Star Fox: Assault
by Jim McCloud
Summary: Chapter 7 is FINALLY up, after months of working on it. Hope you all enjoy, and R&R please!
1. Chapter 1: Prolouge & Fortuna

STAR FOX: ASSAULT

PROLOUGE

Sauria. The planet on the outer edge of the Lylat system. Fox McCloud was atop Krazoa Palace, a mighty fortress in the northernmost region of the planet. It was the coldest place he had ever been, except for the depths of space. He knew that if anyone said otherwise, they were dead wrong. It was always raining here. Pouring rain. That was Fox's world right now. Rain. It was soaking his fur, taking away his visibility as he ran for a raised platform in the center of the top of the Palace.

General Scales, the giant tyrant lizard that had ruled over Sauria with an iron fist for years, had just been defeated somehow, with the aid of an unknown ally Fox had. There would've been no chance if the mysterious being hadn't shown up. All Scales had to do was release that last Krazoa spirit, and that being forced him to.

But that voice...Fox still couldn't help but to remember that sinister tone from somewhere. He could see someone, but they were in a fog. He couldn't visualize a face at all, but he knew the voice was from somewhere in his past.

Fox kneeled in front of the stone Krazoa head, on a small intricately designed circle placed before it. The Krazoa monument before him resembled almost an ape's physical features, only it had a slightly longer chin, hair that almost resembled dreadlocks, and it possessed tubes on its neck, for things Fox knew nothing of.

Fox let his arms hang at his side, just as he had done five times before, and, like an invisible force was picking them up, they spread out, stretched parallel to the hard floor.

He grimaced as he felt a pain, like a fist was entering inside his chest, like it was trying to pull his insides out. He closed his eyes winced at the sudden pain, but almost as quickly as it had come, it left him as the ghostly blue spirit was taken from him.

These Krazoa spirits Fox was releasing back into the palace were kept in shrines, safe from harm, put their powers were useless. The spirits possessed powers that were possible of bringing life to a dead or dying planet. Atmosphere, water, plants, organisms, whatever was necessary to sustain it.

For this planet, the spirits kept it all in one piece. The main reason that Fox had been deployed here in the first place was because of the fact that massive fragments of the planet were torn from its surface, and hovering in orbit, shrouded in debris and asteroids from the fragments.

The planet was near its death, and if it exploded, the entire Lylat system would have been morbidly affected for hundreds of years to come. This sixth and final spirit was to bring all of Sauria back in one piece and restore its balance.

Fox shook some rain off his head, and ran up to the raised platform where a gem was hovering, and there was someone inside of it. A beautiful blue vixen. Her name was Krystal. He had found her trapped inside this prison near the beginning of his expedition here. Upon seeing her inside, he had made it his vow to make sure that she would be freed, along with saving the planet.

To this day, Fox had been awe-stricken at just her appearance. He almost felt as if he fell in love with her at the first sight of her. She had the facial features of an angel, and, considering Fox was indeed a male, he didn't mind too much that all the beautiful girl was wearing was a top, and a loincloth. Fox had always had a big heart, bigger than most, though in spite of his nature of being a mercenary. He wasn't one to pursue a girl for looks or a 'good time.' His dad made sure of that, bringing him up morally well in his childhood.

Though he obviously hadn't talked to this girl and all he had to see was her, something in his heart told Fox that there was truly something special about _this_ girl. Fox knew where and when to place his heart to something, or someone for that matter, and it seemed, and on the inside he knew that now was definitely that time. This angel that Fox had found, her very life depended on what he would do next.

She had been trapped ever since Fox came to Sauria in search of answers of how to repair the planet. He had heard her cry out for help when an actual Krazoa, towering over ten times Fox's height, appeared to him in Moon Mountain Pass, near the higher altitude north region of the planet and told him of her distress.

Her reason for being here was a complete mystery to Fox, and the team for that matter. They could find no information on her history, except her planet of origin, Cerinia. He climbed the ramp that lead up to the gem and stopped dead in his tracks, dumbfounded. Something bad was about to happen; Fox felt it in his gut.

Fox McCloud's Mind was racing. He'd freed all the Krazoa spirits, but nothing was happening.

"_What's going on? Something's wrong._" He thought as he stared at the floating gem hovering inside some of the ancient mechanics of the palace, the six blue ghostly spirits circling it at great speed. "You said this would save her!" He yelled to the spirits, even though he knew they wouldn't reply.

"N-NO!" He yelled as the spirits began to collide with the gem, causing Krystal to move inside, as if she was trying to break free. Then, they stopped, and her eyes opened, wide with fear and terror as the spirits retreated behind a huge stone Krazoa monument on the other side of the palace. Fox looked at the spirits, but just as quickly as he saw them, they were gone.

He trained his eyes back on the blue and white vixen in the gem, whose eyes were again closed.

"Wake up!" He said to her, even though she could not respond. The gem began to shudder, and the mechanics that caused it to hover in midair, above a large cavity that was completely open to the depths of Krazoa Palace, began to smolder.

"_Oh crap..._" Fox thought as he drew the staff from his back. He pressed a small button on the side, and it extended to its full length, as long as Fox was tall. The gem shattered and it, along with Krystal, began to fall into the Palace's depths, but Fox dove with the staff held out at arm's length in both hands, and felt something take hold of it.

Fox pulled up the staff towards him and saw a blue hand emerge from the edge. He grabbed it and pulled, and her face began to come into view as Fox began to pull her from her almost certain death.

He pulled the staff with almost all the strength he could muster. The vixen slung her other arm over the edge and as Fox offered his hand her eyes met his. Fox was awe-stricken; she was gorgeous. Her mystical, innocent eyes a deep dark blue that matched with the color of her blue and white fur, and, upon seeing her trapped inside before, Fox thought she looked like an angel. On her forehead was a chain with an amulet, housing a deep green emerald in the center.

Fox felt a vibration in the air and heard a rumble behind him as he took her hand in his and pulled her out of the abyss. He pressed a button on the staff and it retracted as Fox slid it underneath his munitions pack he carried over his shoulders.

He looked up at the dark gray, gloomy sky and saw the Krazoa head monument, but it was hovering in midair, almost directly above the platform Fox was standing on. Fox's blood ran cold at the sight.

"I am reborn! The mighty Krazoa God!" It said and its voice thundered loudly across the whole palace. Fox recognized the voice. It was the same one he had just heard earlier, the one that commanded Scales to release the final spirit.

Thoughts of confusion swept Fox's mind. The mysterious voice that had just recently saved his life, and the planet, was now commanding him to bow before him. Something was wrong. You figure that the Krazoa God would at least send you _some_ gratitude after you had saved it. "Kneel all those that shall stand before me!" It boomed, nearly scaring Fox out of his fur as he looked into it's dark blue eyes.

"We'll NEVER kneel in front of you!" The vixen said. Fox was just about to open his mouth to protest to the monument but he felt a nudge on his back.

"Give me that." He heard her say.

"Hey! Wha-" Fox began to say as she took the staff.

"Well, that's gratitude for you. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even be standing here at all." Fox said in frustration. Krystal said nothing, but looked her staff, that she had just gotten back after weeks of being held captive in some foreign gem hovering above a planet billions of miles from her home, yet although destroyed, planet.

She looked at Fox with an evil grin, then glared at the Krazoa head, still hovering just above the platform they were standing on. Fox raised an eyebrow as she extended the staff to full length and aimed it at the titanic floating monument.

Krystal fired numerous fire blasts at the stone monument, doing no visible damage. It hovered higher and somehow, with the powers it possessed, conjugated a wormhole. Fox immediately ran for his Arwing as he watched it escape into space. Something inside him told him to destroy that ghastly head. He jumped in the cockpit, strapped on his harness, and hit the startup.

Fox glanced over to where Krystal was still standing and saw her still shooting the small red fire blasts from the end of her mystical staff. Fox glanced up at the monument, still fleeing through the wormhole, and still saw no visible damage.

He piloted his Arwing carefully around the raised platform, so as not to hit any of the spires that towered over it, and pointed the nose of the Arwing straight at the entrance to the wormhole. Fox jammed the throttle all the way up and grinned as his head flew back against the cushioned back of the Arwing's seat, but that grin instantly left him as he remembered he was going to inevitably fight something he knew absolutely nothing about.

Fox took a deep breath and closed his eyes as the Arwing was shaken slightly from the wormhole. When he opened his eyes, he was in the black of space, the only other place that Fox knew of colder than Krazoa Palace. Fox glanced around as he lowered the throttle slightly, no Krazoa god in his sight.

The Arwing was a sleek design only several years old, designed by none other than Slippy, and Beltino, Toad himself. A close friend of Beltino's, James McCloud, added in his own expertise by inventing the hyper laser which was up to five times more powerful than the Arwing's standard armament. Slippy was the team's mechanic, and Beltino was Slippy's father. Though Slippy wasn't much of a fighter due to his slight…clumsiness…while piloting an Arwing, he made up for it in his skills with a wrench and his knowledge of the vehicles of the team inside and out.

Fox checked his radar, showing that he was near the sector Y nebula, but the Lylat System, his home, is a good two-day's journey from Sauria. Fox glanced around, and this time, noticed the asteroid field. He turned the nose of the Arwing towards it and killed the throttle. Fox knew something was wrong. _"Kneel, all those that shall stand before me!"_ didn't really sit too well in Fox's mind.

He looked at the radar, covered with small dots in the top half of the circular display, because of the field and it's slight radar interference, but then Fox noticed something different. a somewhat larger blip, moving towards Corneria at great speed. Fox narrowed his eyes, gritted his teeth and kicked the throttle all the way forward and flew into the asteroid field.

Fox neared the moving blip on his radar, swerving erratically around colossal asteroids as he flew on, full speed ahead, to the intimidating monument. Fox saw a glint of dark brownish-yellow color off to his right, and threw the flight stick towards it and pulled the throttle down to about eighty percent thrust.

That glint of yellow he saw loomed larger as he neared it. It looked, to Fox, many times bigger in space than it did on the palace balcony. Fox heard some static on his comm, then a voice chimed in.

"_Huh? What the heck!_" Fox thought as he turned his nose up at the intercom. It was the same voice as earlier, only Fox knew it this time.

"I've been looking forward to this...to see you again...Fox McCloud!" It said as the ghastly monument turned around. Fox's jaw dropped, and he clenched the controls in his hand as hard as his eyebrows went down in an expression of anger and hate for the face before him.

"No...I...I killed you, Andross!" Fox said.

His horridly swollen hands could knock something the size of Fox's Arwing into dust, and the power within his brain was almost all beyond comprehension, and to this day, Fox, and all of Corneria's most brilliant scientists could not begin to start at hypotheses of what it was that was corrupting him so terribly. The only thing that was discernable was the influence of some technology greater than the Cornerian's.

In his Arwing, Fox gritted his teeth and gripped the trigger that would fired the twin lasers on either side of his Arwing, he didn't care how that force came to be. All he cared about was how he was going to finally put an end to his oppression and hate.

Andross smiled and showed his putrid yellow teeth as he sensed Fox McCloud's anger towards him, a sight that made Fox want to shoot a nova right down his throat, and run and hide in a corner at the same time. Instead he growled, tightened his concentration and punched up the throttle, circling the abomination, searching desperately for some kind of a weak spot.

Fox cut flow to the throttle and brought the nose of the Arwing to face the stone monument side of the corrupted being and he pelted it with hyper laser fire as the Krazoa's mouth began to open, and as it did Fox bit his lip and narrowed his eyes as it shot a dark purple beam of pure energy directly at Fox's ship. He punched the throttle and swerved as he glanced at the energy reading that recorded off the charts, still firing wildly into the Krazoa monument when he had the opportunity. Fox heard a rumble from outside the cockpit, and the beam dissipated.

Fox knew that he had hit something, a weak spot. He shot a glance to the Krazoa as the beam stopped. He had knocked one of the dark blue, dimly glowing eyes out. Fire was streaming out of the incision he had created, and Fox grinned as he painted the other eye with laser fire, and it too was also destroyed in a matter of seconds.

Fox punched the throttle and pulled the stick straight up, flying directly over and on Andross's side of the machine. He threw the flight stick down, and looked into Andross, who was upside down.

He wiped numerous beads of sweat from his forehead as he threw the Arwing into a barrel roll, bringing Andross's nauseating face upright. Andross raised his unnaturally large hands, and Fox fired into them, just like before those many years ago. He fired, and his right hand exploded in a bright cascade of flames.

This weakened the tyrant, but it angered him more than anything and Fox struggled to maneuver out of the path of the other hand, dodging asteroids flying by, just feet from his wings, as he did so. Fox gave it everything he had, but didn't move fast enough. Andross's hand clipped his wing, knocking it clean off. Red alarm lights were flickering on and off and auditory alarms were blaring in the cockpit, his ears ringing from the noise.

Fox nearly lost control of the wounded Arwing, but brought it back onto bearing with Andross. He raised his hand again, and Fox sqinted his eyes shut as he braced for impact, the gargantuan hand flying towards him at blinding speed...

And he bolted up in his bed on the Great Fox, the team's four-winged Titanic of a flagship.

As Fox McCloud glanced around his darkened quarters nervously and patted his body to make sure his limbs were still attached to him, he realized that his fur soaked in a cold sweat, and his heart had nearly pounded itself out of his chest. Fox stood up from the bed, dressed in just boxers, and tried to calm his heavy breathing and his heart rate.

The 'alarms' were actually the pinging on Fox's VAC (video/audio communicator). Fox sat up in his bed, threw on his flight jacket on his fur as he looked at the clock, which read 10:36 AM. Fox stretched, popping his back several times, and turned the light on in his double-room quarters. He yawned heavily and staggered over to the VAC and hit a button which shut off the pinging and put a live link to the source of the transmission, in this case the Great Fox bridge, and Krystal.

"Hi, Fox." She said as Fox smiled back at her. Now, _this_, Fox didn't mind hearing in the morning, he thought as a light wave of red appeared on his skin under his fur.

Krystal's voice hit Fox's face like a gust of warm air. He loved her voice; its been the most soothing thing he'd ever heard. It was like a breeze on an open lake on a star-studded night.

Krystal, the mysterious telepathic woman from the distant planet of Cerinia, and Fox's love interest, was sworn in as a member of the team several days after the Sauria operation had ended.

Krystal, in Fox's opinion, was the best thing that had ever happened to him. She and Fox had met through a small window of chance when Fox had accepted the Sauria operation several years ago. Her warm, dark blue eyes, blue and white fur, and her smile betrayed nothing of the pain and confusion that she had gone through in her not-so distant past.

Though Fox and Krystal were very close, they had not really gotten into a relationship as of yet. Krystal was still overcoming the grief of her home planet's demise due to the anarchy of Andross, and Fox did not want to complicate her situation any more than it already was, but he stood by her and, in a sense, gave her a much rather needed shoulder to cry on for her times of grief.

In the past few weeks, Krystal had been beginning to move on from her planet's demise, and was moving emotionally closer to Fox as a friend and more so a companion as she realized that he was her bright light in her former shadow of darkness, and that they both truly cared for and would, if the occasion happened to arise, take a bullet for one another.

"Sorry to wake you up Fox, but you're really needed at the bridge. General Pepper has some information you'll need to hear firsthand. It's about Oikonny's guerilla forces." She said as Fox ruffled a tired hand through the fur on his head, trying to straighten it out some.

General Pepper was the hound dog who was close friends with James, and had watched over him along with Peppy Hare after James had been killed by Andross during the Venomian wars. Fox thought of Pepper, and Peppy, as father figures of the StarFox team, and himself for that matter.

"It's ok, Krys. I'll be up in a minute." Fox said as he smiled back, the crimson strengthing under him. Sure they've been extremely close for years, and, being a telepath, Fox could logically guess that she knew how he felt; but Fox still had a bit of shyness in him. He hoped he'd have it rooted out somehow. Krystal hit a button, and the screen went black.

Andrew Oikonny was Andross' nephew and a member of his army during the Venomian wars. Though he descended from the maniacal scientist, he was a coward, and a terrible leader, from what Fox had encountered of him a few years ago, to say the least.

Krystal turned her chair around and grinned, also a slight blush appearing under her cheeks as well. "_He's not like other guys…He's got a heart of gold…I can feel it…" _She thought.

CHAPTER 1

Fox took a shower to revive himself from his dream, got dressed in OD green pants, white knee guards, red shoulder protectors with the StarFox logo stamped on them in white paint, with a white undershirt and his white ribbed flight vest; His flight suit that he had worn many times over during the Venomian wars and during the Sauria Expedition.

Fox McCloud, twenty-three years old, had matured at almost an exponential rate since he was sixteen; the same year his father had died. He was a man devoted to his line of work, always fighting for the cause of peace in the system; despite being a paid mercernary; he still had his values straight, and a bit of extra credits was not on the top spot.

His red-orange and white fur and his bright green eyes constantly hinted at the turmoil, pain, and the action he has seen over the past seven years. Though he had experienced things no one man should, he still had a heart of gold, and, luckily, his sense of humor. Krystal would be the first to ask about that. He even made her laugh on the ship when she arrived on Sauria, when ROB 64, the team's robotic assistance, noted that his temperature had increased when she had approached him. That was the only time she had ever seen another vulpine get so red that it showed through his fur. He was always the first on the scene of battle whenever he could be, ready to fight the oncoming surge of enemy forces, no matter the odds, even something as behemoth as Andross himself.

Andross was a Cornerian, an ape and he was once the brilliant bio-technical genius on Corneria, Fox's home planet, but his research carried out too far when he completely demolished Remus City in the northern hinterlands of the planet, killing everybody living there. People had grown up hearing the stories of Andross: maniacal genius, and wishing that if only had had put his brains to good use, he might not have become the horrid monster he was today.

He was banned to Venom, a greenish-yellow planet, with an atmosphere that was hardly breathable, far from Corneria where his research could not harm any more innocents. Yet, several years later, all of Corneria was baffled when they noticed strange biological activity coming from the planet and found out that he had created his own army on Venom, and had declared unconditional war on Corneria. Pepper sent three pilots organized into a mercenary squadron, the first StarFox team, to investigate.

Fox's father, James McCloud: hero, father, friend, and family, was the ace pilot and lead of the Cornerian mercenary force that tracked his movements. James was the best, and most brave and cunning pilot the whole galaxy had to offer. He was one who would not ever swerve from the course of the mission he was tasked to, nor would he betray his friends, despite being a mercernary. He, like his son, still had their morals.

Unfortunately there was someone who always had his sights set on money. James was betrayed by a greedy hog by the name of Pigma Dengar on a routine space flight to Venom, and killed on the surface of the planet when his Arwing was shot down by Andross' forces. Records showed that James put up one storm of a fistfight on the surface, taking out nearly fifty of Andross' own hard trained Marine soldiers before his forces finally subdued him.

Pigma Dengar was a greedy and selfish hog who thought nothing of himself, and worked for the person that offered him the most payment. Pigma worked for Corneria's defense for years, but when Andross had somehow contacted him and offered him a higher pay check, his loyalty to James McCloud and all of Corneria went out the window.

Peppy Hare, then thirty-five years old and a wise rabbit pilot who had degrees in physics, astrophysics, and astronomy, was the only one to make it out of the firefight above the surface of Venom, but even he barely made it, being that he was shot at as much as James was.

Peppy was one of, and still is, Corneria's greatest minds ever to roam the galaxy. He has his PhD in Astronomy, quantam physics, and he was one hell of a professional pilot, next to James. His wisdom was one of great need on James's StarFox team, and it would be greatly need on Fox's StarFox team.

Fox had sworn to avenge his father's death, and up until now, he thought he had done that. Andross had some kind of unexplainable force that was feeding his power and corrupting him, resulting in only his head and hands remaining, swollen to enormous proportions.

His suit was snug, it still fit him just like a glove. Fox sat down in the chair in his quarters near the foot of the bed and leaned his head back as he remembered that day those months ago when he pulled Krystal out of her certain death, and the embarrassment of ROB's great observation skills.

He yawned and wiped a bead of water out of his eye as he exited his quarters and headed up to the briefing room. Falco had obviously woken up not too much earlier than Fox because he was walking up to the bridge, combing his feathers the best he could, but they continued sticking up on his head. Fox smiled and threw a wave as Falco put the comb in his pocket.

"Fox! Hurry up, man. The generalis up there waitin' for you." "Yeah I know. What's going on, Falco?" Fox asked.

Falco followed him up to the briefing room as he gave him an idea of the current situation.

"Just like old times, huh Falco?" Fox said as they walked onto the bridge deck.

Falco Lombardi was the StarFox team's ace pilot, directly under Fox. He was a moderately cocky blue falcon with red feathers around his eyes and mouth that could make a smart remark at the drop of a hat. He typically wore a red on white flight suit and gear because he thought it matched his feathers. Falco still had his loyalities, but he constantly insisted that he was with Fox and the team just for the money. Fox hasn't believed him yet.

Fox glanced out of the front windows and saw a green hue surrounding the perimeter of the glass. Stars and several planets flew by as he turned back to face the team standing in front of him.

Everyone was standing on the raised platform at the entrance of the bridge that made an oval shape, gradually descending and coming even with the primary level of the bridge. The team was facing in the direction of the bridge's VAC which was placed at the front of the bridge on a screen that could be lowered and raised to allow use of the front windows of the ship. Fox walked in and stood beside his old friend General Pepper. He extended his arm and Pepper shook his hand.

"Good to see you again, sir."

"Likewise, Fox, but I wish it were under better situations." Pepper said. Fox let go of his hand and Pepper glanced at everyone else and nodded.

"Well Fox, I'm surprised, but we're not too late for this one." Fox nodded.

"We do try to be on time for rehearsal." He said with a grin.

"Just great. I can't believe Andross had so many of his old ships left behind." Slippy said.

"They're just all a bunch of terrorists for hire, in it for the money." Peppy continued.

"Hmm…They're not too bad for a bunch of hired sidearms." Krystal said.

"Oikonny is the leader of the guerilla forces in orbit around Fortuna." Pepper said as he tapped a button on the remote in his hand and a photo of Andrew Oikonny, Andross's nephew, appeared on the VAC. Fox rolled his eyes at the image, mainly because his apperance was nothing short of ridiculous. Falco snickered and Slippy looked away with his cheeks puffed with air as he stifled his laughter as Krystal rolled her eyes, a grin of humor, and disgust at him, spreading across her face.

"Wow...Andrew's sure changed since the last time we exchanged lasers with each other..." Fox said with a grin.

"That's an understatement, Fox." Pepper said and snickered. "But he is still a dangerous threat to Corneria's security."

"Whatever you say, General." Fox said sarcastically.

"Fox. We're about to come out of warp." Peppy said as he walked down to the small, monitor-like technological command console near the center of the bridge and sat down in the padded chair behind it.

He began typing a sequence into the keyboard under it to warm up and let it fuzz slightly before getting on a running frequency. Peppy looked at the console and grimaced. The computer said it would need about ten minutes to target Oikonny's ship amidst all the confusion and fighting around the planet.

"Fox. I can't find Andrew's flagship on sensors yet. When you head out there,

we're going to need you to take out as many of the battleships as you can to make his ship stick out a little more."

Fox turned to Peppy and nodded as he looked out of the view port in the front of the bridge as the Great Fox came out of warp drive and saw numerous explosions out in the distance, lighting up the immediate area of space.

On the lead Cornerian battleship, the gray husky captain Trent Lanshius was in a losing situation, despite the fact that Oikonny's ships were almost decades older than the newer Cornerian ships. The tactical officer was dead, all the bridge lights had blown out and most of the technological command computers were fried and smoldering. The only things still functioning were engines and life support, and shields, but they were at 10 efficiency.

Trent's ship was an 'Eyrich' class battleship. The state of the art design, shields, and armament that it possessed was no more than a year old. The enemy ships may have been older, but Andrew Oikonny seemed to be a tactician, and he was definitely getting the most out of the old technology he possessed.

And, worst of all, Trent was flying blind as he had the ship on manual control, trying to dodge wave after wave of enemy missile fire himself with a flight stick on the main bridge console. The only visibility he had was what the window at the front of the bridge had to offer.

Trent saw a magnificent green ring form several hundred kilometers away from the bow of his ship…the only time that happens is when a ship is coming out of hyper drive… Trent didn't know what to think.

"_Oh we're screwed...the enemy just flew in reinforcements…" _he thought. Then he saw the nose of the cockpit of the Great Fox and Trent let out a whoop as his incoming message indicator light, the only one on the bridge that was still working, flashed on and off. Trent tapped a button on his console and took a sigh of relief at what he heard.

"Cornerian Fleet. StarFox, here. What's the current situation?" Came Fox McCloud's voice over the speakers.

"Fox, you guys are a welcome sight. They've been giving us hell out here. We're being slaughtered." Trent said.

Fox looked at the VAC and saw a very battered and bruised husky at the controls of the lead ship. He had some cuts on his forehead, a bandage on his arm, but with all the lights on Trent's bridge being out and the fuzz on the Great Fox screen from Trent's damaged system, Fox couldn't make anything else out.

"Understood." Fox said.

"Hey, Fox."

"Yes, Captain?"

"I'm buyin' all you guys a round of drinks when this is over." Trent said and smiled.

"All right, Trent. I'm lookin' forward to it."

Fox nodded and cut communication. Trent took a sigh of relief as he watched the illustrious Great Fox come through the gate. The waves of missiles began to recede as Oikonny's fleet apparently checked their radar, as they began concentrating their fire on the Great Fox.

Fox McCloud jumped in his Arwing and began the startup sequence as the other team members did the same.

Fox looked over at Slippy's Arwing and saw that he was stuck, head first, inside the cockpit as two other technicians were trying to pull him out. They did, eventually, and Slippy submissively looked at Fox and grinned. Fox smiled and rolled his eyes at him as Slippy climbed, rather slowly this time, into the cockpit. Fox tapped the touch screen monitor a few times and could hear his engine start to warm up behind him as he closed the canopy.

"Ok, team. Oikonny might be dumb, but he's not stupid. Take it easy out there." Peppy said through the ship intercom. Fox nodded as ROB notified the team that the Lift Locks were released.

"Let's do it."

Fox punched the throttle and his arwing flew out of the Great Fox at blinding speed, followed by everyone else. Fox opened up a comm channel to the other arwings and said,

"Okay, guys," he said. "Loosen up. Stay tight on my wings. We've got ourselves Andrew to check up on, maximum risk. Nobody play the hero here. Let's move in." Fox said. He barrel rolled into the center and saw his other wingmen, and wingwoman, doing the same.

"All right. Let's take it down the middle 'till Peppy tells us otherwise. Remember. He's got the sniper's eye view over this whole thing."

Fox was amazed at the heat of battle before him. About half the fleet of all of Corneria's ships were engaged with just as much, if not more, older battleships from the remnants of Andross' old fleet.

Fox was banking and swerving like mad in all directions to avoid being vaped by countless swarms of enemy fighters the battleships unleashed at him. He vaped enemy fighter after fighter but they just kept coming. Fox shot a nova into an enemy squadron and as it detonated and the explosion subsided he flew on through their wreckage.

Then one of the battleships launched something different at Fox. A battlemech- like robot, nearly double the mass of Fox's own Arwing. was shaped in the form of a humanoid body, but it had a pulse gun for a right arm.

"W-what is that thing? Some kind of prototype?" Fox asked over the comm. The mech shot a beam out of the pulse gun, nearly sending Fox into nonexistence.

"That beam's energy reading is huge! Watch out, Fox!" Came Peppy's voice over the comm.

Fox was barrel rolling, looping, and bouncing his ship left and right, trying to get a lock on the prototype. Falco came in from above Fox, swooped his ship by and fired a nova bomb right into it's chest, turning it into a fireworks show.

"Good shot, Falco."

"You owe me, Fox."

"Slippy and Falco, go left. Fox and Krystal, head right," came Peppy Hare's over the comm screen.

"Will do. Let's hit them hard, and don't hold anything back!" Krystal said as she extinguished a squadron of seven enemy fighters intercepting her from the bow of her Arwing. Enemy battleships kept on releasing squadron after squadron of enemy fighters at the four person team of Arwings. Fox grimaced at the HUD as he realized he was running low on novas.

Fox bit his lip as he narrowed his eyes and charged up his hyper laser. He locked onto another fighter ship in the center of another squadron, this one consisting of twelve, and let the laser blast fly into space. That center ship got blown into atoms as the shockwave from Fox's laser blast took out most of the others as the few surviving fighters tried to make a run for it.

Fox vaped them as another decade-old battleship opened up it's hangar doors to space, but Slippy shot loose a nova streaking bright red through space, hitting the ship right in it's gut and blowing it and everything around it into a brilliant flash of light.

"Fox! We're under attack. Two battleships warped in behind us a few minutes after we showed up." Peppy said followed by a rumble and the sound of a distant explosion over the comm.

"Understood. Falco, do you care to join me?" Fox asked as he looped his Arwing 180 degrees, back towards the StarFox command ship.

"It'd be my pleasure." Falco said and raised his Arwing's nose up and backtracked, on Fox McCloud's left wing.

"Slip-up, Krystal. Leave some for me and Falco and don't have too much fun."

"You got it." Slippy said over the comm as he bounced his Arwing to the side of several laser tracks and blasted the fighters. 

"Copy, Fox. Be careful."

"No problem, Krys."

"All right, Falco. This'll be interesting." Fox said as he came over the top of his command ship to get a layout of the situation. Two battleships were about one hundred meters from the engines of the Great Fox, and it seems they knew where to hit it, and they sure knew what direction to come from.

"We've got it right where we need it." Commander Rimm Mecu, a leopard, said in his deep, scratchy voice from his command chair located on the bridge of his battleship. "Concentrate cannon fire on the starboard and center engines. The other ship will take the left. Oh. And...launch our fighters." He said with a grin to his tactical officer sitting several feet in front of him.

"Aye, sir. Launching fighters." The helmsman reported as he began to type on his tech console to signal the fighter's release. The bridge suddenly rumbled, shaking Mecu and several other officers out of their chairs, and his ears shot straight back to full alert. 

"Damage report." He growled.

"Sir, that last hit damaged our starboard cannon." An engineer reported from behind him.

"Well if you're so smart, fix it." He hissed as he walked towards the viewscreen to see four blue streaks flying directly towards his position. Mecu clenched his fists and dug his claws into his skin as he made out the tell-tale silhouette of the Arwings looming larger by the second on the screen.

"I got a hit on the starboard ship. Moving in to engage the fighters." Falco reported.

"Nice shot. Be careful in here, and watch your six." Fox said as he plunged the Arwing down to the enemy battleships, and into the swarm of enemy space fighters.

"Got it, Fox. Don't worry about me." Falco said.

Fox maneuvered his ship in every direction possible, dodging laser blasts one after the other as he attempted to get a lock on the battleship positioned on the Great Fox's port side.

"Target the battleships. Forget the fighters!" Fox yelled into the comm as the mass of fighters began to clear as he slid past their defenses. Fox swerved around to the back of the Androssian battleship and got a bead on the engines. Fox fired two charged blasts, and the ship's two engines went silent. He swerved to the top of the ship and let loose a single nova right into its exhaust port located midway on the ship on the starboard side. The nova bomb hit its mark, and the battleship exploded in a white flash.

"Fox! Missiles!" Falco yelled.

Fox glanced at the Great Fox and saw what Falco meant. Six heavy missiles, launched from the battleship that Fox already obliterated.

He swore under his breath as the missiles neared the Great Fox. Fox fired several aimed shots into the line-up of missiles, but couldn't destroy them all in time. One of them got past Fox and Falco's aim, and impacted the center engine of the Great Fox.

Fox clenched his fists as he swerved through the twisted wreckage of the battleship and began to target systems on the next one. Fox pelted the port side of it with laser fire, destroying laser cannons and several hangar doors along the way.

"Commander! Our warp drive is out, and weapons systems are offline. We can't take much more of this damage." The helmsman reported to Mecu as the bridge began to smolder and consoles as well as some areas of the floor began to burst into flames from system overloads and power surges in the wiring of the ship.

"What do you think we can do, Lieutenant? Run?" Mecu asked grimly as explosions sounded in the distance, near the aft portions of the ship. "Tell me. Where the hell can we run to!"

"Woo-hoo! Good goin' Fox!" Falco yelled as the enemy ship was enveloped in a colossal blanket of fire.

"Rob. Give me a damage report." Fox said.

"Starboard engine damaged, center disabled. Dry-dock required. No casualties."

"Well that's good." Falco said as he vaped several of the enemy fighters attempting to warp out of the battle area.

"Too late, pal. Game's over." Falco said as he shot a nova bomb into the center of the mass, taking out the remaining twenty or so fighters left. 

"Let's head back. Pep can take it from here." Fox said.

"Slippy! Watch it!" Krystal yelled as she fired upon the exhaust port on yet another of Oikonny's ships, sending it into oblivion as a squadron of three small, fast space fighters came up on Slippy's six.

"Dang! I can't shake 'em!" Slippy yelled as he bounced his ship, trying to lose his pursuers, but they matched his every move.

Krystal bit her lip as she attempted to get closer to Slippy's Arwing, registering about fifty meters ahead, but was met with an onslaught of enemy resistance.

"Slip, I can't get a lock! There's too many other fighters ahead of me, and you're too far ahead.

"Oh no. What can I-" Slippy began to say but a sudden outburst of blue lasers scorched the fighters behind him, sending them careening into space.

"Krystal? Was that you?" He asked, a smile on his face.

"No, Slippy tha-" Krystal said, but was interrupted.

"Yee-hah! You haven't changed the least since I've been gone, frog boy!" Falco Lombardi's voice echoed into the comm.

Fox pressed a button on his tactical console and "Born to be Wild" poured through the Arwing's speaker system.

"All right, Fox." Falco said into the comm as Slippy laughed, having recalled the memory of totaling the jukebox.

"Perfect music choice, Fox." Krystal said with a laugh over the comm as she painted several enemy fighters exiting the hangar of another battleship.

Fox flew his Arwing near what he had noticed earlier, a clean spot from the firing and narrowed his eyes, looking for something in the distance. In a firefight such as this, there should never be an area where no lasers are flying through it.

Fox glanced over to see a blue streak coming towards him from his right side and through the wreckage of one of the battleships. Fox was about to pull a loop to dodge, but right before he jammed the stick back he made out the silhouette of an Arwing.

"Fox! A stealth squadron! Look out!" Krystal yelled. She had sensed the thought patterns of the soldiers in the ships.

"_Wha-!" _Fox thought as he bounced his ship hard left and cut a 360 to avoid the sudden wave of missile fire headed in his direction as three dark blue frigates decloaked twenty meters ahead of him.

Fox gritted his teeth as one of the missiles clipped his right wing. He growled in anger as his Arwing shuddered and he lost his lock on one of the stealth ships.

"Fox! How many novas you got left!" Falco said over the comm.

"Three!"

"Well, what're you waitin' on…USE 'EM!" Falco said as Fox blasted one of the stealth ships into a ball of flame and wreckage.

Krystal came up on Fox's right wing and Fox heard her say over the comm, "How are you holding out, Fox?"

"Oh fine…Just a little scratch is all," He said and looked at her through his cockpit and smiled, his heart rate increasing slightly, him being able to see her through his cockpit window. She smiled back, the same thing happening to her, when her eyes suddenly widened.

"Fox! Port side!" She said and she slammed on her brakes, threw her flight stick as far left as it would go, whirling her Arwing around 90 degrees to the left, and fired a nova _right _past the engine wash of Fox's Arwing, right into the throat of a stealth ship just as it decloaked.

"Good shootin', Krys," Fox said as he wiped some sweat from his forehead with his hand.

"Anytime," she said as she pelted another enemy fighter.

"Fox, I found Oikonny's ship is on the radar. Seems he was jamming us earlier, but that last ship you took out had the jammer in it. I'm highlighting him on your radar as red." Peppy said.

"Good. That's what I needed to hear." Falco said.

Fox took aim on another one of the enemy battleships and fired, but it missed as an enemy fighter got on Fox's tail.

"_Oh you're good._" he thought as he pulled a loop, took out the fighter, and pelted the battleship with hyper lasers.

"_But…I'm better_." He thought smugly as he gritted his teeth and continued firing, getting ever closer to the hull of the battleship he had missed just seconds before, firing the hyper lasers constantly, keeping the nose headed straight for it.

Fox let out a yell as the range finder on the HUD began to read in the single digits. the battleship exploded, and Fox jammed the flight stick back towards him, throwing the arwing's nose up at a 90 degree angle, and Fox's arwing nearly brushed the hull of that ship. Fox swallowed and wiped some more sweat from his forehead that had collected. Sure the Arwing had an A/C unit, but the heat of battle cannot be cooled.

On the bridge of Oikonny's own custom flagship, his first Lieutenant John Saminas slowly walked up to him with a small clipboard in his left hand.

"Sir...our primary defense line has been breached. Starfox has somehow penetrated our defenses…We must retreat." He said to Andrew on the bridge of the fleet's flagship.

Andrew glared at John, then snatched the clipboard from his hand and looked it over. It was a virtual layout of the battle's progression so far, with the Cornerians now on the winning end of the firefight.

"McCloud again... This guy's a demon. John, work these guys over. We're going in the atmosphere" Andrew said.

"But sir, we ca--," Saminas tried to say.

"JUST DO IT! I'LL HANDLE THIS!" Andrew yelled as he turned and glared at Saminas.

"Y-y-yes sir," John stammered and returned to his post. Andrew gritted his teeth as he saw his fleet battleships being blown to pieces, one after the other.

Andrew Oikonny smiled as he gazed out of the viewport of the bridge of his ship and thought of finally defeating the StarFox team once and for all…

"Fox, we've got problems. Oikonny is changing his course. He's heading into the atmosphere." Peppy said over the comm.

"After you, Fox." Falco said.

"Great. Adjust your G-diffuser system output," Fox said as he did so. He could hear, and see, the mechanical blue masses on both sides of his cockpit move as they braced themselves for atmospheric entry.

Fortuna loomed larger, and Fox could see the fire lapping around the nose of his arwing due to Fortuna's atmosphere.

Fox glanced around the planet and saw part of the sector Y nebula looming over it's top right half, amidst the countless numbers of stars that dotted the darkness of space. Fox took a deep breath of the oxygen that was pumping out of the Arwing's life support system as he also saw the red-brown mass that was Titania, far into the distance. Fox swallowed and plunged the Arwing into Fortuna's atmosphere. The Arwing began shaking violently as the atmospheric gases began to take their toll on the ship's hull.

"Oikonny's base is down there. I want all of you to proceed with _extreme_ caution." Peppy said over the comm as the rumbling began to recede and Fox could make out the green hint of the forests of the planet.

"Worryin' a bit much, aren't ya, gramps?" Falco said as they got near the surface. Peppy mumbled something that sounded like it referred to Falco's mother as Fox grinned and readjusted his G-diffuser as he leveled off the nose of the arwing to keep from hitting the planet's surface.

A vast rainforest. That was what this stretch of Fortuna reminded Fox of, especially the equatorial climates of Sauria. It was gorgeous. His ship was in a crevice, with tall slabs of granite on either side of him, reaching about fifty meters into the sky and ending abruptly, forming a mesa. The stretch of land thirty meters below him had a rushing river running though it, and it was covered with trees, foliage and plant life everywhere.

There were canyons, waterfalls, trees, cliffs, and gorges all around him. The air was so clear that Fox could even see some pillboxes in the distance about half a mile away. He couldn't believe that this planet was currently harboring an enemy army, let alone being their base of operations. Fox noticed a blinking red dot on radar, signifying a priority target

"Oikonny's base is ahead five clicks." Rob said.

"Gee…wonder where he's at?" Falco said sarcastically.

"All right, guys. I want Falco to cover the air resistance while Slip, Krys, and I will wipe out the ground forces."

"Roger. Leave the sky to me." Falco said as Krystal and Slippy acknowledged Fox's orders also.

"All right. _This _time we take this annoying little crap-flinger down. No exceptions." Fox said over the comm and dove down, streaking just a few meters over the surface of the forest underneath him, dodging trees and smoothly maneuvering his ship between them, considering they were somewhat sparse in this clearing. The team had to demolish as much of his army as possible, and Fox assumed, being a base and not a runway, there would be more ground assault vehicles more that fighter aircraft.

Three groups of four two-wheeled heavily armed enemy all-terrain walkers each, rolled in from both sides of the forest and Fox fired a charged hyper blast at one of the groups, knocking them out. Krystal picked her target, as did Slippy, and they were eliminated off of the scopes.

Fox could even see enemy infantry on the ground, firing their assault rifles at the arwings as they flew by. To say the least, they weren't doing any good.

"Fox look out!" Krystal said. She swooped her ship in from below and vanquished a fighter that had gotten on Fox's tail.

"Thanks for that, Krys."

"Anytime, Fox. I've got your back."

Fox went red under his fur yet again as a grin spread across his face.

Another group of AT's came out, this time five on either side, and Fox tapped the trigger on the flight stick as fast as he could, blasting the ATs into nonexistence as a squadron of twelve enemy fighters appeared in front of Fox.

"_Good...more target practice..." _Fox thought as he targeted the center fighter in the squadron. Fox let the blast fly and before the fighters could attempt to evade, they were turned into a brilliant yellow flash.

The clearing dropped into a gorge several miles deep, still with the steep colossal canyon walls on both sides of the team. "Sensors indicate the base is directly ahead," ROB said over the comm.

Those pillboxes Fox saw earlier now turned out to be six full-size Heavy Anti-Aircraft gun batteries. With Fox being in the lead, they opened fire on him first and he banked hard left, bounced his Arwing left and right, and pulled multiple barrel rolls while still trying to target them with his lasers. Fox got a quick glance at the position and saw that only one of those six gun turrets was concentrating fire on him, the rest delivering their payload to the other ships.

Fox pulled a loop and shot his last remaining nova at the dead center of the six batteries, wiping the whole bunker clean off his scopes.

"You guys all right? Anything broken?" He asked over the comm.

"A-OK," came Slippy's usual high-pitched voice.

"I'm fine." Said Falco.

"I got hit a little bit, but I'm ok, Fox." Krystal said.

"Fox, there's the base!" Peppy said over the comm.

"Good." Fox said and hit the boost as he vaped a supply train carrying ammo into the gates. Fox flew through the gates and immediately ten enemy ground assault vehicles rolled out from their bunkers and opened fire on Fox.

"Fox Look out! The enemy's waiting for us!" Krystal said over the comm. Fox fired and swerved, avoiding their fire and firing hyper laser blasts, blowing them away. "Crap not again. A little help?" came Slippy's voice over the comm. Fox rolled his eyes as he got Slippy in his sights and knocked down the bogeys behind him.

Krystal flew ahead of Fox with a fighter in her sights. She fired and missed, as the fighter pulled a U-turn and faced Fox. Krystal did the same and the fighter exploded, nearly knocking Fox's wing off in the process.

"Nice shot..." Fox said sarcastically.

"Sorry," She said and laughed over the comm. Fox disabled another AA turret on a nearby wall as he maneuvered around a communications tower to dodge some incoming fire, and knock out some more ground assault vehicles as they continued to roll out of their bunkers and open up on him.

Oikonny had a bigger fleet of ships and ground assault infantry and troops here than Fox had ever imagined. Fox could only dream of what Andrew could do, if this base was to utilize it's full potential. The firing stopped as the Starfox team reached the end of the base, and Oikonny's ship flew by, about twenty meters in front of Fox's arwing, in an artificially made clearing in the forest, clearly made for docking his own flagship.

Oikonny's flagship was about the size of the Great Fox, but an entirely different configuration. Instead of having three engines, Andrew's ship had two, slightly larger, engines with two prongs on metal extending outward on both engine structures. Fox could only guess what those were for. They seemed rather unnecessary. The Great Fox consisted of a very solid straight, yet still aerodynamic, structure while Oikonny's ship was more tubular and rigid, it's design being several years older.

"We found him." Krystal said.

"After him, Fox," Peppy said over the comm.

Fox cut a hard right and came to face Andrew's afterburners.

"You don't have anywhere to run to." Fox said as he gritted his teeth.

"Hmm... you guys are persistent, aren't you?" Andrew said to Fox.

"You know it, Andy." Fox said sarcastically.

"Fine. Now it's my turn to stay and fight." Andrew said and turned his ship around and stopped. Fox jammed the brakes and growled as he narrowed his eyes...waiting for Oikonny's next move.

"Careful, Fox...you never know what a cornered beast might do..." Peppy said.

Then, much to Fox's surprise, Oikonny's ship began to...transform... Fox cocked a brow as he pondered what he could be doing.

The starboard side folded out into two halves, then rammed themselves together in what looked almost like a hand, as the port side of his ship did the same. When this happened, Fox and the team knew what those four prongs were for. Mechanical hands.

Part of the main fuselage of his ship blasted away into the Fortuna soil as the remaining portion folded up into the shape of a head. Oikonny's ship completed transformation, and it looked like somewhat of a battlemech version of himself. Sort of a mimic of Andross, except this one was made of steel, not huge sections of organic matter.

"You think _you _can win! Don't try to make me laugh!" Fox said and hit the boost.

"You've gotta be kidding me! What is this, anyway? Some sort of Andross wanna-be?" Falco said with a laugh over the comm.

"Sh-shut the hell up." Andrew said. This brought back flashbacks of Fox's dream he had earlier. He shook his head in an attempt to clear them from his mind as he fired upon the mammoth hands of Oikonny's new ship configuration.

Fox fired several charged shots loose at the left hand and it exploded in a brilliant flash of light.

"Is that all you fools have got?" Andrew said, trying to intimidate the StarFox team, as his left hand careened toward the surface of Fortuna.

"It's not over yet!" Andrew said and took another swipe at Fox's ship, and of course, he missed.

Fox tapped the red trigger on the stick that produced the lasers on both sides of the cockpit, and before long it exploded, leaving Oikonny defenseless.

"Hell, Is that all you fools have got?" Oikonny said again, clearly trying again, but in vain, to intimidate the Starfox team.

"I'm the air to Andross' rule. I'll destroy the whole Lylat sys-" Oikonny said as a yellow laser blast came from the sky, obliterating his ship completely.

"I…what the…?" were his last words before his ship imploded.

"_What was that! Was that the Great Fox!" _Fox thought to himself as he shielded his eyes from the brightness of the beam.

"What...what is that thing!" Fox said as a strange, new, creature came flying down to meet the Starfox team. It resembled something along the lines of a moth, but looked as if it was made of solid steel. It had huge, powerful wings, and a stinger-like object on its abdomen. Fox had never seen anything like this before.

"No...This...can't be..." Peppy said.

"Aparoid! Emergency manuevers!" came ROB's voice over the comm.

"Aparoid?" Fox said. "Hmm...such strange thought patter-AHH!..." Krystal said as the aparoid turned on it's abdomen and fired a beam towards her ship, but barely missed. Fox growled. "_NOBODY pulls crap like that and lives_." He thought.

"RETURN FIRE!" Fox said and punched the throttle as everyone else did the same.

"Fox, look for some kind of weak spot," Peppy said. Fox fired all over the colossal moth-like specimen, desperately searching for some kind of weak point. He took a few shots at one of the eight wings, and the aparoid flinched as Fox hit an orb on the end of one a few times.

"_Found it." _Fox thought as he let a charged laser blast fly at the spot he had been firing at, and the wing exploded into shards of what looked like glass and fell towards Fortuna.

"Yeah! It's working!" Came slippy's crackling voice over the comm. Fox and the rest of the team let charge after charge fly towards the wounded aparoid but it fought back with powerful beams of pure energy from the orbs that Fox was trying to destroy.

He banked and looped like mad, desperately trying to lock on to the orbs. After what seemed like an eternity, Fox finally knocked all the wings off of the beast.

Fox thought he had it beaten when it took off, miles into the air, but it quickly descended back down and it's stinger faced straight down into Fox's path.

"FOX! LOOK OUT!" Falco said as the aparoid spun around and turned the soil of Fortuna into molten rock.

"_What...how in the world?"_ Fox thought as countless numbers of huge pieces of rock flew straight up, and Fox's jaw dropped as he looked at them come skyrocketing back down towards him and the rest of the team.

He turned and twisted the Arwing like mad to keep it from becoming dust. After all, these rocks were about the size of a small space station.

"Man, this is ridiculous!" Slippy said as he did his best to dodge all the rock.

Fox was banking and doing rolls like he'd never done in his life, but it wasn't good enough. Fox got his left wing knocked clean off by the flying rocks.

"_Damn!" _ Fox thought as he was just about to give the order to pull back, when it stopped.

The aparoid flew back down and pointed its stinger right at Fox's arwing. Fox's eyes grew wide as he pulled a loop do dodge the blast.

"There it is! That's its weak spot, that center point!" Krystal said. Fox felt glad that he had a comrade like Krystal, and that could read brain patterns. Fox was about to return fire himself until he realized that every alarm light in the arwing was flashing on and off at him, and that his shield gauge read: Shield 25.0, Hull Int.20.0.

Fox fell back a few meters, hyper laser cannon on the right side still blazing out blue flames, and the rest of the team fired countless numbers of hyper lasers and charged laser blasts at the aparoid's only weak spot. A small red and glowing orb inside of its mouth.

Eventually the beam stopped emanating from the stinger, and the aparoid itself was enveloped in a huge explosion as it nearly tore itself apart. It dropped like a rock, and its head shattered on impact with Fortuna.

Fox saw what looked like a large, intricately detailed model of a DNA molecule resting on the ground beside where the aparoid head shattered. "Fox! You've got to get that thing, now!" Peppy said over the comm.

"Er...okay..." Fox said and parked his arwing beside the aparoid. Fox flipped a switch, and the canopy flew open as he grabbed his blaster and hopped outside to pick up whatever it was Peppy wanted.

He got it, placed it in his gear pack on his back, and glanced up at the sky. He almost wet his pants at what he saw. Countless numbers of the same type of aparoids that Fox had just vanquished, and they were heading straight for him.

"Fox! Get out of there, _NOW_!" Peppy said and at once Fox jumped into the cockpit of his arwing and hit the startup.

Nothing happened. The engine fuzzed slightly, and then went out.

"Oh no." Fox said.

"What!" Falco, Slippy, and Krystal said at the same time.

"This piece of crap won't start!" Fox said and punched the console with his fists as hard as he could, and he heard the engine begin to warm up behind him.

"Uhh...nevermind. I got it." Fox said, embarrassed and his skin a dark scarlet under his fur. A "Copy." came from them all at the same time and Krystal laughed as they escaped and headed back to Corneria for some well-needed rest and to meet up with Beltino Toad and have him and the Cornerian research team analyze the item Fox had picked up.


	2. Chapter 2: Katina

CHAPTER 2

Fox parked the arwing in his usual spot in the Great Fox hangar, and was surprised to hear Peppy inform him that he had a visitor. Fox walked up to the bridge to see Trent Lanshius, the captain he had talked to earlier, standing on the bridge, waiting for Fox's arrival.

"Trent. Glad to see you made it through all right." Fox said and smiled as he shook his hand. "You too, sir." Trent said. "I promised you guys I'd buy you all drinks," Trent said and looked at the rest of the StarFox team.

"Well, here you go." He said and ROB 64 entered the bridge holding a tray of five bottles of Cornerian ale. "Thanks, Trent." Fox said as he and everyone else took a bottle. Fox held up his bottle as he said "To...umm...aww who cares." He said and grinned as everyone else held their bottles up towards his and Fox downed his bottle. After that, General Pepper entered the bridge.

"Captain Lanshius. Good to see you made it through safely." Pepper said as he shook Trent's hand.

"Thank you, sir. Glad you made it through safely yourself, General." Trent said. "Well, Fox? Did the mission go as planned?" The general asked as he turned towards Fox.

"Sort of...We got Oikonny, but then..." "Then what?" Pepper asked. "We had to blow up with this thing...Aparoid, I think it was called?" Fox said. Pepper hung his head low as if he had just gotten word someone had died.

"Fox, all of you, come in to the briefing room with me, now." Pepper said quietly as he turned and left the hangar. Krystal looked at Fox with that 'what's going on' look and Fox shrugged his shoulders. He was just as much in the dark as everyone else was.

Fox ran to catch up with the general and asked him, "General, what the heck is this aparoid thing?" Pepper said nothing. He just continued walking to the briefing room, ignoring Fox.

"_This is serious." _Fox thought. "_Something is really getting to him about this aparoid thing..." _

The door to the briefing room automatically swung open as Pepper walked in and rubbed his forehead in thought.

"Team StarFox...We are in grave danger. The Lylat system is in peril..." Pepper said as he hung his head.

"What! What do you know?" Fox asked. "I...er...the research director will brief you on the details..." Pepper said as Beltino Toad entered the briefing room. "Well hello everybody." He said. Fox cleared his throat and made a gesture with his hands that told Beltino to adjust his glasses.

"Oh..." he said and did so. "Dad! You never told me _you_ were the research director!" Slippy said. "Well...umm...of course I..._anyway,_..." Beltino said and grabbed a remote attached to the base of the VAC.

"These aparoids -" Beltino began "Aparoids?" Fox asked. "Indeed. These are the enemies you faced earlier." "I believe it was about seventeen years ago..." He said and pressed a button on the remote, and a video image of the Cornerian Fleet came on the screen.

Beltino hit the play button and continued, "An _entire _fleet was destroyed by a sole aparoid. We've been able to analyze the core memory you picked up, Fox, but it'd be better if we had, perhaps, a whole specimen to work with," Beltino said and looked at Fox. Fox nodded as he watched the VAC display one Cornerian ship being destroyed after another. Beltino winced as he watched it.

"Wow...just _one _aparoid did this!" Krystal asked. Beltino stopped the tape and nodded. "Yes...and if --" Beltino began to say but was interrupted by General Pepper.

"Fox, we're receiving a distress signal from Katina, but...we've been able to contact anyone there." Pepper said. "I'm sure that these bastards are involved. We need you guys to go down there and figure out what is wrong."

"All right, sir." Fox said. "I'll fly down and try to find out where the distress signal is coming from a--" "You're going alone? It's too dangerous. I'm coming with you too, Fox." Krystal said. "No. I want you guys covering me from above in the arwings in orbit around Katina." Fox said and smiled at her. Krystal nodded. "All right, I'm really counting on you guys. let's kick some ass." Fox said.

"Hey, Fox. You want me to cover you in my Cruiser?" Trent asked. "Nah...you need to help with relief efforts from Oikonny's battle, Trent." Fox said.

"All right, I hope to see you again, Fox." Trent said as he left the briefing room to return to his shuttle. Fox, again, took the walk down the corridor that lead to the Arwing hangar. "Whaddya think is goin' on, Fox?" Slippy asked. Fox shook his head. "Your guess is as good as mine, slip-up." Fox said.

"Ok, slip. _Try _not to get stuck in the cockpit this time, will ya?" Fox asked him and laughed. "Sure..." Slippy said, obviously embarrassed.

Fox jumped in his Arwing and closed the canopy as he strapped on his wrist communicator. "Ok. I want you guys to hold in orbit around Katina. I'm flying down to inspect the base. I'll signal you guys should there be any trouble." Fox said as he began the startup sequence.

A 'copy' came from them simultaneously. "Ok. We all set then?" Fox asked as he released the lift locks on his Arwing. The rest of the team released their lift locks to signify they were ready as well. Fox nodded to nobody in particular as he grabbed the throttle. He grinned as he pushed it all the way forward, sending his head into the cushioned seat of the Arwing.

"Didn't Pepper say they couldn't contact anyone at the base, Fox?" Krystal asked as they flew out of the hangar and into space.

"Yep." Fox said and did, rather poorly, an impersonation of Pepper, to liven up the situation. "But...we've been unable to contact anyone there." Fox said as Krystal, Falco, and Slippy laughed over the comm.

Fox saw fire from the atmosphere lapping around the nose of his Arwing and he gave the signal for the rest of the team to peel off and hold in orbit. Fox broke through the atmosphere at the coordinates ROB had transmitted to the Arwing before departure and he saw the base.

The base consisted of one central building with four separate parts of it, making it look like a + sign. There were ramps at all ends of the complex, for unloading provisions, Fox thought. The base was surrounded by six walls that were perpendicular to the extensions on the + sign of the complex. At the two corners farthest away from the complex were two raised platforms, and on those platforms was the symbol on Katina's flag, spinning on a raised area on the platforms.

Small fires were strewn throughout the complex, and the central tower was burning and smoldering badly. Fox looked around on the ground, hoping, praying, to see some friendly troop movement. He couldn't see anyone.

"Yo Fox. Whatcha see down there?" Falco said. "Nothing...I can't see anything. No troops, no...nothing." Fox said in disbelief as he cocked a brow at the base. "_What the heck is going on here!_" Fox thought.

"Something's wrong. I'm going on foot. I'm gonna need you guys to come down here and give me some air cover, should this whole place go to hell, okay?" Fox said and a 'copy' came from them.

Fox landed the arwing just outside the base, near the main entrance, which, to his surprise, was wide open.

He sat in the cockpit and waited...waited for something, _anything_, to happen. "_Holy crap...Where is everybody?_" he thought.

Fox adjusted his wrist communicator, opened up the canopy, and jumped down to the sandy soil of Katina. Fox looked up to see the other three Arwings flying in for air cover. "Falco. You hear me ok?" Fox said. "Loud and clear, McCloud. Watch your ass down there, Ok?" Falco said back.

"Right." Fox said and withdrew his blaster from his gear pack. "Hmm...it's too quiet..." Fox said as he walked slowly into the entrance of the base.

Fox heard a hissing, then a loud beeping behind him as the huge door closed down behind him. "Damn! It's a trap!" Fox said as he looked around in all directions, gritting his teeth. 5 aparoids, insect-like in appearance, jumped right in front of Fox, scaring him out of his fur.

Fox ran from them, and while he was running, he turned, held his blaster at arm's length in his right hand, and fired wildly into the oncoming onslaught of aparoids, stopping them dead in their tracks as their limbs were blown clean off from Fox's blaster. Fox walked back up to them, a smirk on his face, and held his blaster at arm's length. Fox shot directly into the eyes of the aparoids, ceasing their movements completely.

He thought he was 'the man', wasting these 5 aparoids, until he looked past the smoldering aparoids, and saw countless numbers of the same type. "_Oh...shit..._" Fox thought. And, as if that didn't make his situation worse enough, the sky had been filled with airborne aparoids, giving the rest of the team a hell of a fight. "Fox! Find another gun! Get a rifle...or something!" Came Falco's voice over the comm.

Fox picked up a machine gun, and an extra mag from a dead soldier, then Fox realized it. He winced as he looked at the dead Cornerian trooper. Fox dropped the magazine out from the right side of the machine gun. He read the gauge and grinned as he rammed it back into the magazine well.

The reason he grinned is because of the ammo reading: 164 rounds. Fox made sure the safety was off, and held it at his hip and drilled all the aparoids, knocking most, if not all, their limbs off. Fox looked around and now he knew why Pepper couldn't raise anyone on the VAC. Dead.

The aparoids had killed all the troops stationed here. Lucky for Fox, this gave him even more reasons to waste these bastards. Fox ran around a corner of the central complex and ran right back, scared out of his mind. Fox saw an aparoid, but it was three times his height, and stood on four colossal legs.

Fox ran back around, steadied the MG on his shoulder while he was still moving, and fired bursts at its head. Fox nearly wet his pants at what happened next. That aparoid had a shield...some kind of barrier.

"Fox! That thing isn't workin'!" Falco said sarcastically as he swooped down in his Arwing and vaped the aparoid. "Thanks, Falco." Fox said and waved his MG in the air at Falco. Fox began to take a sigh of relief but an explosion that occurred beside him knocked him off his feet. Fox shook his head to clear it as he got up, picked up his MG, and ran in a nearby hangar for cover.

"Falco! Watch where you're aiming that damn Arwing at! You just about blew me up!" Fox yelled into his wrist comm. "Uhh...Fox. That wasn't me. I've been chewin' up the airbornes up here."

Fox slowly moved his head from around the corner of the hangar, and near the very end of the base, on the raised platforms with Katina's symbol on it, sat another of the colossal aparoids, and it reared back on its hind 2 legs as a dark orb came from inside it, straight at the hangar.

Fox watched it soar high into the sky, and as it came closer, Fox saw it was an orb of pure energy. Fox dove on the ground as he dropped his MG and covered his head as the hangar was blown to pieces. Fox slung the MG over his back, and ran like hell.

He dove behind a wall, out of range of the aparoid, and stood up. "Holy crap! There's no end to these damn things." Fox said through his wrist comm. "Peppy! I need a Landmaster. NOW!" Fox said. "Ok. On its way. What's the current situation?" "Well, my hands are full, but what else is new, right?" Fox said as he rammed another mag into the MG and held it around the wall and fired blindly into a bunch of aparoids, wasting most of them, waiting for the Landmaster.

"Done, Fox. Here's your Landmaster." Peppy said as a blue beam shot down from space, from the Great Fox, and Fox could see the silhouette of the Landmaster begin to form. First it was transparent, like a reflection from the sun, but the beam intensified, and before long the Landmaster materialized before Fox's eyes.

But...unfortunately for Fox, Peppy transported it dead center in an open field of the base, and was almost immediately surrounded by the aparoids. "Damn, Peppy. It's _great_ to see that the transmitter's targeting system is as _sharp_ as ever." Fox said as he ran out from the cover, surprising the aparoids as he drilled them with the MG.

He checked the gauge: 86 rds. Fox opened up the canopy to the Landmaster and jumped inside as he flipped the safety switch on the MG to the 'on' position and set it in the floorboard of the Landmaster.

Fox buckled up his harness as he began to warm up the engine and bring the targeting systems online. Fox grabbed both the control sticks, steering with the right hand, gun controls in the left. Fox's HUD came up from the dashboard console, and the radar came online as well.

He charged up the main gun and hit the gas. "Fox! Head out to the bigger targets on your radar. They're marked red." Came Peppy's voice over the Landmaster's comm. "Got it." Fox said as he barrel rolled the Landmaster, wiping out several aparoids in doing so.

Fox turned the Landmaster towards one of the ramps, blew the maintenance door off, and bit his lip as he saw another type of aparoid on the ramp. They were small, and had wheels on both sides...almost resembling some kind of tank or assault vehicle.

One of them turned, faced the Landmster, and opened fire with a wave of green lasers. Fox floored the Landmaster, wasting all the aparoids as he climbed up the ramp. As Fox got a bird's eye view of the situation, he thought "_Man, these bastards are everywhere..._"as he wasted one of the targets, the aparoid type that fired the purple orbs at Fox earlier.

Fox checked the radar. 5 more targets, and about twenty times that many stragglers. Fox drove the Landmaster around the perimeter of the base, maneuvering, firing, and obliterating the targets, along with everything else in his path, until one of the tank aparoids that Fox had missed fired a laser blast and took out Fox's radar.

"Oh _hell _no!" Fox said as he turned the Landmaster and ran the aparoid over, causing it to explode. Fox tapped the buttons on the dashboard console frantically, trying to get the radar back up, but nothing worked.

"That's it, Fox. Just a few more targets left." Peppy said. "Umm...Peppy! In case you've not noticed, I'm driving this thing BLIND down here!" Fox yelled into the comm. "Ok...just hold out a little bit...I'll see if I can transmit a new console to you shortly..." Peppy said.

"Ok." Fox said as he grabbed his MG, opened up the canopy, and jumped out of the Landmaster. Fox ran behind cover of a wall and waited...waited to see Peppy's beam from the Great Fox transmit the new radar console to him. About ten minutes passed...nothing.

"Peppy!" Fox said into his wrist comm. "Sorry, Fox. No-can-do up here. I'd have to transmit the Landmaster _back_ up here, replace the con--" "OK! I get the idea!" Fox yelled in anger as he drilled a few insect aparoids with the MG.

Fox took a deep breath and dove for the Landmaster, just as a group of the tank-like aparoids appeared from behind a wall and headed straight for him. In midair, Fox held the MG at arm's length and squeezed the trigger, knocking one them out of commission.

He hit the ground and steadied the MG on his shoulder and drilled away at the aparoids as they returned fire. Fox rolled around on the ground like crazy, desperately trying to dodge the blasts, then stood up, placing the MG at his hip. He again squeezed the trigger and wasted the rest of them.

Fox slung the MG over his back and looked up to see Krystal vape a bunch of the flying aparoids. Fox smiled as he crawled under the Landmaster to try and fix the radar system. He felt the heat of a laser blast and withdrew the MG from his back. Fox fired blindly into the direction it had come from, carefully making sure not to take his foot off in the process, and the laser blasts stopped abruptly. 

He tossed down the MG as he wiped sweat from his forehead and began to set to work on the damaged Landmaster. "Dammit, there's nothing left here!" He said as he got a good look at the damage. There were a few sparks where the wires that fed power had been. Fox picked up the MG and read the gauge. 73 rds. left in the clip.

Fox was stumped. That aparoid blew a hole in the weakest part of the Landmaster's armor. "Maybe, I cou-" Fox began to say. "Fox!" Came Krystal's voice over his wrist comm.

"What! What's wrong, Krys!" Fox asked, instantly stopping working on the Landmaster. Fox froze. "I've got bogeys on my six! I...I can't shake 'em. It's unbelievable! Waste 'em for me, Fox!" She said. "_Shit._" Fox thought. "I'll do my best, Krys." Fox said as he crawled out from under the Landmaster, stood up, and steadied the MG on his shoulder, getting a clear sight picture and lined it up with Krystal's arwing as she flew over his head.

Fox fired a burst, knocking down one of the three flying aparoids behind her ship. Fox whirled around 180 degrees as her Arwing passed over his head, and Fox kept firing bursts from his MG. Fox knocked a second ship down and quickly checked the ammo. 26 rds. "Shit" Fox mumbled.

"Krystal! Bring 'em over towards me again." Fox yelled into his wrist comm. "Ok, Fox. Why aren't you using the tank?" She asked as she turned her arwing towards Fox. "No radar." Fox said as he shot at, and hit, the aparoid and watched it fly towards Katina and explode on impact.

"Thanks, Fox. I really owe you one for this." Krystal said. "At your service, madam." Fox said sarcastically into the comm as he checked the gauge on the MG. empty. Fox tossed it aside and drew his blaster as he once again crawled under the Landmaster.

Now, Fox had some time to put his plan into motion, he just didn't know how much. "Oh yeah..." Fox said as he crawled out from under the Landmaster, picked up the MG, took the clip out of it, and ran back to the landmaster and opened the canopy to cut off all the power on it.

Fox did and crawled back under, and the sparks from the wires had gone. Fox looked at the empty clip, looked at the hole that the aparoid had created, and jammed the clip in there as hard as he could. Fox took his blaster and hit the clip with the butt of the handle repeatedly, just to make sure it wouldn't budge. He reached up and tugged on it a few times, just to make sure it would stay. It didn't move an inch.

Fox climbed out from under the Landmaster and jumped in the cockpit. As he closed the canopy, he fired up the engine and brought the main gun online as he prayed for the radar to come back. Fox looked at the switch that would bring the radar targeting online and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and flipped the switch.

When he had opened his eyes, the radar display was still blank. Fox could feel his eyelids twitch with frustration as he reached for his blaster. Fox stopped with his right hand just a few inches away from the blaster handle, and looked at the console with a look of utter disgust on his face. He cursed under his breath as he reared his arm back and pounded the console with his fists, hoping it would fire up.

Lucky for Fox McCloud, it actually did. Fox looked at the radar and smiled at his accomplishment as the line circled the display, illuminating the targets as it passed over them. Fox headed out to the closest target out of two, bulldozing every small aparoid in his path as he did so. Fox was on a war path.

He grinned as he watched the smaller aparoids fly into the air and then right back to Katina and explode as he rammed them with the Landmaster. Fox held the trigger, charging the laser, and let it fly to the target as it reared back, trying to let loose another purple orb of energy at him, but never got the chance.

"Wait...what the hell!" Fox said as he looked up into the sky. "Peppy. What are these things? You sendin' me a supply drop or something?" Fox said into his wrist comm. "No...we haven't sent any...oh no..." Peppy said. "Fox...we've got some problems...Those things falling from the sky, hatchers, spawn _more_ aparoids. You've gotta waste 'em, Fox." Peppy said. "Damn...it just gets better and better, doesn't it, Peppy?" Fox asked.

"Don't give it up, Fox. Go on and kick some ass." Falco said over the comm. Fox nodded to nobody in particular and said "All right. Consider 'em wasted." and fired a shot from the Landmaster, vaping one of the targets.

"Peppy. How many of these things have I got to blow up?" Fox said. "Umm...scanners are picking up 10." Peppy said. "All right." Fox said as he ran over a bunch of the insect aparoids. Fox once again drove around the perimeter of the base, knocking off target after target, and about a hundred stragglers around each one, but Fox still had a few targets left.

"Fox. Check inside the buildings. You've gotta find a way inside somehow." Peppy said. "10-4. How do I get inside?" Fox asked. "Sorry, Fox. You're on your own here. Try to find an elevator to get inside." Peppy said.

Fox parked the Landmaster beside one of the extensions of the + sign complex. He grabbed his blaster as he opened the canopy. Fox wasted insect aparoids one after the other as he tried to make his way to the ramp of the complex that would take him to where the elevators were located. Fox pressed the 'open' switch and ran up the ramp, to the nearest elevator, which was at the very center of the complex.

He hit the 'down' button and descended into the depths of the central complex. Fox drew his blaster as he neared the lower level, and was greeted with a whole slew of the insect aparoids as the elevator hit the lower level. Fox wasted them all, with minimal effort, and slowly made his way to the target.

Fox finally got a good look at the hatchers. It was disgusting. It was circular, had a slimy green color, a bright yellow center, and it was clinging to the wall of the room with three long, slender legs. Fox stepped back, charged up his blaster, and let it fly, obliterating the target completely.

"Target down!" Fox said into the comm. Fox ran back to the Landmaster and glanced at the radar. The remaining targets were bunched up close together and Fox hit the gas, headed straight in their direction. Fox stopped the Landmaster and looked at the radar closely.

Fox looked out of the cockpit and saw a huge warehouse door. Radar said they were inside. Fox backed up the Landmaster about a hundred feet, charged up the turret, and blew the door down. Fox grabbed his blaster and slowly walked inside the warehouse full of boxes.

Fox slowly moved his head around the corner of one of the boxes and saw countless numbers of the insect aparoids guarding two hatchers. Fox took a deep breath and fired shot after shot into the mob of aparoids. Fox gritted his teeth as the aparoids were demolished, wailing out their cries of pain as Fox finished them off with well-placed shots to the head. Fox pulled a grenade out of his gear pack, pressed the 'arm' button, and threw it at the hatchers.

He watched it shine bright red, then change to a white light. Fox smiled as it exploded brilliantly, taking both of the hatchers with it. "All right, Fox! Get back to the...Oh no..." Peppy said. "What is it?" Fox asked. "We've got a new enemy presence in the base. A _big_ enemy presence. Get to the Landmaster." Peppy said.

Fox got outside of the complex, and saw what had scared Peppy. A huge red semi-sphere of energy, made out of small hexagons, had formed over the northeast quadrant of the base. "Oh...I've got a _bad_ feeling about this..." Fox said. "Oh shit!" Fox said as he saw what came through the barrier of energy. A HUGE, colossal aparoid that towered _twice the height_ of the tallest part of the base.

It had a head that looked like a UFO, and it stood on four colossal legs, with it's feet the size of the Landmaster. "Damn we're screwed." Falco said over the comm. Fox nodded as he gritted his teeth at the aparoid. "So...This big bastard's the leader, huh?" Fox asked to nobody in particular and charged up the turret of the Landmaster.

"Fox! Aim for the flashing red ball in the center of it's underside! That's the weak point." Peppy said. Fox nodded and fired a shot into it. Nothing happened, but the aparoid shot a huge wave of missles from it's underside, straight at Fox. Fox rolled the Landmaster, dodging the missles, but it knocked off the bearings he had for the orb on it's underside. "Damn! I can't get a good shot off!" Fox yelled into the comm.

Fox stopped the Landmaster and pointed the turret at the orb. He fired, and it hit it's mark. The aparoid's legs gave out and it collapsed onto the ground of Katina. Now, Fox! Get on top of it!" Peppy yelled. "What! I thought you said that _the frigging underside _was it's weak point." Fox said as he hit the hover switch.

"Sorry, Fox. You've got to hit the underside to get on the top. The aparoid's _most_ vulnerable point is on the top." Peppy said as Fox switched off the hover. The Landmaster shook as it landed, and the aparoid stood back up. "_Shit...what am I doing here!_" Fox thought.

The small tower-like structure in the center of the aparoid's top opened up, exposing another, bigger red orb. "Shoot it, Fox! That's it!" Falco said over the comm. Fox fired round after round into the center of the orb, and it closed after Fox had gotten just a few shots off. "Crap! Am I doing any damage?" Fox asked Peppy. "Yes. Keep it up, Fox." Peppy said. "Fox! Hit the hover!" Krystal said.

Fox hit the hover and looked down at the aparoid's head. A huge wave of green electricity had covered the surface of the head. He desperately steered the Landmaster, trying to keep it lined up with the aparoid as it moved about, trying to keep the Landmaster off of it.

Fox switched off the hover and the Landmaster shook violently as it impacted the surface of the aparoid. The tower opened back up again, and Fox fired madly into it. The aparoid closed it, much quicker this time, and tried to electrify the Landmaster. Fox hit the hover, but when he disengaged it, he was on the very edge of the aparoid's head. "Don't let it throw you off, Fox!" Falco said. Unfortunately, it did.

Fox squinted his eyes tightly shut as the Landmaster tumbled towards the ground. Fox's only thought was of Krystal as he fell... The Landmaster shook violently and Fox opened up his eyes to see that everything was upside-down. "Wow..." He said.

"Fox?" Krystal's voice came over the comm. "Aargh...damn that hurt...I'm OK, Krys." Fox said as he tried to get to a more comfortable position in the seat. "Falco, has anyone got any novas left?" Fox asked. "Nope. Sorry, Fox." He said back. "Hmm...Peppy. Bring in the Great Fox, and...charge up the main guns." Fox said with a smile.

"You got it, Fox." Peppy said and laughed. Fox found his blaster somehow, and blew open the canopy. When he got out, he ran like hell into one of the aircraft hangars nearby. Strangely, it was the one that had gotten obliterated by the purple orb fired at him in the beginning of this hellish operation.

Fox heard a low rumble, and saw the Great Fox in the clouds, descending by the minute. "Find some cover, Fox. This is gonna be one hell of a fireworks show." Peppy said as the ship broke through the clouds.

"FIRE!" Peppy said and looked at ROB 64 hit a button on the tactical console. Peppy looked back at the monitor. The aparoid was still standing. "_Damn..._" He thought. "Fox! How's the landmaster?" Peppy asked. "Totaled." Fox said.

"_Figures..._" Peppy thought. Fox looked up to see the Great Fox fire another volley of plasma fire, and aimed it precisely at the tower structure again. Lucky for Peppy, it was open this time, and the aparoid wailed in pain as it practically tore itself apart. The aparoid leaned to one direction, and it's legs shook, desperately trying to hold it's own weight up. It moaned again, and crashed to Katina, shaking the planet violently. "Oh crap..." Fox said as he felt the ground shake under his feet.

"Nice goin', Peppy." Fox said as the Great Fox headed back up into the clouds. "Anytime, Fox." He said. "Fox. That thing's got a core memory." Krystal said. "Get it, but be careful. We don't know what we're up against here." Peppy said.

"Yeah I know that. I haven't seen many of these things before either. Hmm...This is weird. That distress beacon isn't transmitting anymore." Fox said. "That can't be good." Peppy said.

Fox jumped onto the aparoid's head and heard a ship over him. He looked up and heard, "Hey Fox! Long time no see, huh?" "Holy shit! Pigma!" Fox said. Pigma laughed over the comm at Fox's surprise.

"Well, since I'm here, I guess I'll help myself to this, then." Pigma said and launched a tractor beam to the core memory, bringing it into his ship's holding bay. "No wait! That's--" Fox said. "Damn is it that important?" Pigma said. "Well then I'm gonna be rich!" Pigma said and took off, out of Fox's sight.

"Damn!" Fox said as he kicked the tower of the aparoid where the core memory once was, shattering some of it. "Fox calm down. I'm tracking his ship on radar." Peppy said. "I've overridden the door where you parked your arwing outside of. Get to it and get back up here." Peppy said. Fox nodded and ran for the arwing.

Fox threw his blaster in the floorboard and hit the startup. "Are you Ok, Fox?" Krystal asked him. "Never better." He said and laughed. "And you?" He asked. "Good. Thanks for asking, Fox." She said.

Fox smiled as he slowly moved the throttle and pointed the nose away from the base. Fox threw the throttle all the way forward and flew into the clouds, towards the Great Fox.


	3. Chapter 3: Fox's flashback

-1CHAPTER 3

Fox jumped out of his Arwing and took a deep breath as Krystal walked over to him from hers. "You did Ok, Fox. I'll have to rethink my opinion of you." Falco said with a grin as he walked out of the hangar.

"Thanks, Fox. Now I've got to overhaul that whole freakin' Landmaster. What did you do to that thing, anyway?" Slippy asked.

"Well, Slip-up, you outta know me by now. I've just got my own way with machines, I guess." Fox said with a grin. Slippy rolled his eyes and walked out of the hangar, mumbling something about shooting something under his breath.

"Hey." Fox said as Krystal approached him from her Arwing and stood beside him with an arm oh his shoulder. "Glad you're back." He said as he wrapped an arm around her waist and gave her a hug.

"You too, Fox." She said and rested her head on his shoulder with a loud yawn. "Tired?" Fox asked. Krystal nodded.

"Come on. Let's head up to the bridge. I'm sure Peppy's waiting for us to show up. After that, I'm sure all of can get a well-deserved rest…it's getting late anyway." Fox said as he rubbed the back of her head with his hand. Krystal sighed.

"All right. Sounds good to me." She said and they walked back to the bridge.

"Well Peppy, what's the word on Pigma?" Fox asked when they arrived. "Well, his radar contact led us somewhere before it disappeared, but..." Peppy said.

"But what?" Fox implied. "He disappeared at the Sargasso region of the system." Peppy said glumly.

At that, everybody's heads instantly turned towards Peppy, and their blood ran cold.

"Fox...What's the Sargasso region?" Krystal asked.

"It's a secluded area of the system that we like to venture away from. Heavily fortified, and it's a hideaway for all the criminals of the galaxy." Fox said.

"Oh. Sounds like fun." Krystal said. Fox grinned at her joke.

"Dammit, Pigma. Why'd you have to run _here_ out of all places?" Peppy said in anger.

"Fox, all of you, go get some rest. We'll be in the Sargasso region about noon tomorrow." Peppy said as he turned his chair back to his console, typing on the keyboard searching for up-to-date information on the region.

Fox walked into his quarters and threw his flight jacket towards a chair. He missed. Fox shrugged it off with a chuckle as he lied down on his bed and stared at the ceiling, thoughts of his father phasing in and out of his mind. He reached over into his cabinet beside his bed and pulled out a photograph of himself when he was about 7 years old.

It had been taken a few years before James' last arwing flight to Venom. Peppy had taken that photo himself, but he thought it better to give it to Fox after James had gotten killed. It was the only picture of his dad that Fox had. The frame it was in, once gold and full of luster, was now tarnished with age and the glass was beginning to form a crack on one side of it.

Fox smiled as he remembered that day so long ago. It was a warm spring morning at the McCloud household on Corneria. James had taken that weekend off to spend some time with Fox and his wife Vixy, and for once, he hung up his flight jacket in his closet, and was wearing a less formal suit of a pair of jeans and a shirt.

Peppy and James were outside in the front yard talking, something Fox didn't really care much about, being 7 years old. He had snuck into his dad's closet and put on his flight outfit, which was about five sizes too big for Fox. He could remember that day like it was yesterday, even though it was almost fourteen years ago...

7 year old Fox McCloud tugged on the clothes hanger that held his father's flight jacket, and it came loose and toppled on top of him, engulfing him in darkness. Fox threw it off of him and put it on.

His paws only went out to where James' elbows would have been. Fox reached up and tugged at the flight pants and dodged them as they nearly fell on top of him.

He slipped them over his legs, and his feet didn't even come to the knees as he pulled them up as high as they would go. He got his dad's flight helmet and put it on, or actually allowed it to engulf his head. Fox had to tilt it _way _back to keep it out of his eyes as he stumbled, nearly falling with every step, out of his dad's bedroom to where James was standing outside in the front yard under the large magnolia tree in full bloom.

"Jim, I just don't know what's going on... We're getting some really weird readings back from Venom." Peppy said as he took a small notepad that James had been studying. "Andross." James said as he took off his shades, showing his dark blue-green eyes under the shade. Peppy nodded somberly. "Probably." He said as he stuffed the pad in his pants pocket. "We just can't tell for sure yet. All _I_ know is that if he tries to attack Corneria, he'll go for you and Fox first, James." James nodded, with a tinge of anger showing on the vulpine's face. "Peppy, that cra-"

"Dad!" Came young Fox McCloud's voice from behind him. James whirled around to see what was wrong, but smiled when he saw his son in the flight outfit five times his size.

"Hey, son. Lookin' sharp in my flight suit." James said as he kneeled beside him. "Ready to do some flyin' just like your old man, Fox?" James asked. "Yeah!" Fox said. "Peppy, you got that camera on ya', man?" James said as he put his arm around Fox's shoulder.

Peppy didn't answer. He already had the camera out of his pocket, and at the ready. James stuck the arms of his shades down the v in his t-shirt as he readjusted his feet to get a more stable stance. "Smile, son." James said and grinned at the camera.

Fox smiled and the flash from the camera nearly blinded the young kit. Fox groaned as he rubbed his eyes, trying to get the spots he saw to go away.

He sniffed as his mind brought him back, looking at the ceiling of his quarters, tears forming in the recesses of his eyes. He sighed as he rubbed what he could out with his arm and put the photo back into the drawer and rolled over on his side just as the doorbell on the other side of his door pinged.

"Come in." Fox said in a shaky voice. The door slid open and Krystal walked in with her hair wet and down and her jewelry gone, wearing a loose white tank top with light blue sweat pants that dragged under her bare feet. Fox smiled weakly at the sight of his beloved friend, and as he remembered she was telepathic.

Krystal offered a comforting smile at Fox, who returned it weakly, and gave him a tight hug as she sat beside him on the bed, gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and rubbed her hand through the fur on his forehead.

Fox embraced Krystal tightly as he rested his head on her shoulder, feeling somewhat like a wuss for letting her see him like this. Krystal returned the embrace that Fox had given her, tears welling up in her eyes slightly as thoughts of her own parents began to surface.

"I still miss him..." He said after a long silence through tears as he slowly pulled out of the embrace and sat facing her on the bed, his head facing straight down to the sheets.

Krystal put her hand on Fox's chin and moved his head in level with her own, to get a good look at her captain and her beloved friend as well.

Fox offered her a weak smile, now that he knew he had nothing else to hide anymore. Looking into her dark aqua-blue eyes, Fox could see the bit of water welling up and a streak running down the side of her face as she began to break up slightly. Fox reached a hand up to wipe the tear away from her face. Fox didn't know it at the time, but Krystal had thought that one of the sweetest and most loving thing a person could ever do for someone else.

"Sand in your eye?" He asked, trying to lighten up the situation a bit. Krystal laughed lightly, rubbing out her other eye with her arm.

"Krystal…"

"Yeah, Fox?"

"Tell me about your parents." He asked kindly. "I don't think you ever have." Fox said with a compassionate smile.

"Well…" She began, trying to catch her voice back through the tears. Krystal scooted over to Fox and leaned her head on his shoulder as he put an arm around her waist.

"My mom…my mom was the kindest and perhaps the prettiest woman I had ever known, and she had blue fur, gorgeous fur, a shade or two lighter than mine. She was caring, very gentle and one of the smartest people I've met, save for you." She said with a grin. Fox smiled at the remark as he gave Krystal a slight pull of affection towards him with the arm wrapped around her waist.

"And my father…he was something." She said with a laugh. "You two would've gotten along great. That staff I have now was his. He gave it to me when I was a kit, and he had been teaching me how to use it properly ever since then. He was like my mom, a bit. He was caring, and kind. But…" Krystal began with a chuckle. "He was unlike my mom in that he could bring a pretty good fight to anyone who wanted to threaten either of us, kind of like you. He had a muzzle about the shape of yours." She said as she rolled her head up to look at Fox and gave him a kindly poke in the nose with her hand.

Krystal sighed, clearly basking in the memories of times long past as her eyes moistened up slightly once again.

"He used to hang out with me all the time and give me some teachings as to that staff when he wasn't busy hunting for food with the other men of the tribe. He'd toss me in the hot spring when we went swimming and sometimes we'd get in play-fights where he'd end up rolling me down a hill just to get me out of the way for a second. I'd laugh all the way down…" She said with a laugh, followed by another deep sigh and a warm tear rolling down her face.

Fox gave Krystal another little tug towards him as he adjusted his weight slightly in her embrace and as she pulled herself to him some more.

"What do you guess they would have thought about me?" Fox asked.

"Oh come now, Fox." She said with a compassionate smile. "He would've definitely liked you, after all the things you've done for me there probably wouldn't be another person my dad would've trusted more. And my mother and I were practically one in the same, if you ask me. There wasn't anything really different between us, save for age. She would've loved you, Fox. She would've loved you as much as I do." Krystal said, a bit to her own surprise as she was deep in thought about her parents, and Fox. A slight tinge of dark-red formed under her fur at the slip of the tongue and the same happened to Fox as well though that was exactly what he had wanted to hear for a while.

"How about your parents, Fox?" She continued after a few seconds of silence as they both let that sink in for a second.

"Well, my dad was something else as well." Fox said with a laugh, and yet another affectionate tug on Krystal's waist. "He and your dad would've had some fun together. He was one heck of a pilot, and a crack shot with anything. He and your dad were about the same. Caring, kind, and sure as heck to put up a fight if need be." He said with a grin. "He started teaching me how to shoot a gun when I was thirteen, and how to fly about a year before I joined the Cornerian academy. We'd play war games left and right on the weekends whenever we had a free minute, and…wait I've got a picture." Fox said and reached over to the nightstand and got the old picture out of it and handed it to Krystal, still resting in his arms.

She smiled at the sight of the young orange vulpine in the flight suit about sixty times to big for him, with a helmet covering the majority of his head.

"There's no question as to that, Fox. Seems you were destined for that cockpit even when you were young. Your dad reminds me so much of you, Fox. That must be where you get that skill and some of that charm from." She said with a smile as she handed the picture back to him. Fox laughed a bit as he sat it on the pillow behind him.

"Speaking of charm, my mom was something not too far short of a miracle. I think that's where I got my sensitive side from, but my dad had it too. I tell ya', she could make some killer lasagna for dinner. Back in my first year of the academy, I'd come home on the weekends and take a nap 'till about six that afternoon and wake up to the smell of that lasagna every single time. That was definitely something worth coming home to." Fox said, letting out a deep sigh as he became lost in thought.

"Well, I hate to ask, but what would have your parents thought of me?" She asked, rolling her head up again to look at him. Fox looked down into her cerulean blue eyes, still with a drop or two of water in them which gave Fox a good reflection of himself as she cracked a loving smile to him.

"Oh you can't be serious, Krystal." Fox said with a smile. "My dad would have certainly liked you right from the start and my mom would have loved you." Fox said with a pause.

"Just like I love you too." He said after a second of silence between the two of them.

Krystal leaned up and gave Fox a deep, compassionate kiss at those words. Fox, being a gentleman, returned it with the same feeling and compassion she had given him. The two vulpines were totally absorbed in one another, experiencing surges of emotions from sadness to profound love.

"I…I've never felt this strongly for anybody before, Fox. I knew there was something pretty different about you when I walked onto the bridge of that ship." She said as she pulled away some minutes later to catch some air.

Fox grinned. "I'll never forget that day either, you walking in with a loincloth and a bra." Krystal giggled and gave Fox a light punch on the arm to complement the remark.

"But I kept my eyes on your eyes as well, Krystal. You've got to give me that." He said. Krystal grinned and nodded in agreement.

"But I could tell something different about you too…that first time I got a good look in those gorgeous blue eyes of yours after I pulled you out of that abyss with your own staff, I could really tell something different…something amazingly different. Though we were slightly occupied at the time with the floating monkey head, I couldn't help but feel that bit of 'love at first sight' feeling."

Krystal smiled and laughed, remembering that moment in time as well. She pulled Fox over to her into a tight loving embrace and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Right back at 'cha there too, Fox." She said with a grin. Fox's face went instantly redder than ever underneath his fur.

The two sat in silence for several minutes, feeling one another's warmth and comfort in the chilly quarters of the Great Fox.

"Well, I probably ought to let you get some sleep, Fox." Krystal said.

"Krystal…" Fox began, reaching his arm around his back out of slight nervousness.

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind to sleep here tonight?" He asked, then suddenly regretted it. "I didn't mean so we can…I mean…I love your company…and after all it's cold in here and this sheet doesn't kee-" He began. Krystal kissed him to shut him up.

"I'd be happy to, Fox. I know that you don't mean it like that. I love your company, Fox. And besides, it is kind of cold around here." She said with a grin.

Fox smiled and got up to get a pillow out of the top of the closet. He managed to pull one down without taking everything else with it and gave it a toss to Krystal who was still sitting on the foot of the bed.

"Thanks, Fox." She said as Fox walked back to his side of the bed and pulled down the sheets. Krystal situated the pillow on the head of the mattress and laid down under the sheets, facing the orange vulpine next to her. Fox gave her a kiss on the lips and offered her a smile.

"It's a lot warmer with you around." He said with a grin.

"Likewise." She said.

"Love you, Krystal."

"Love you too, Fox." Krystal said as she gave him another kiss and turned over. Fox wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she took a loose hold of his hand as the two began to doze off to blissful rest, much needed after what the last couple days had offered them.

Krystal was first to fall asleep, as Fox could tell her breathing changed. Fox pulled the sheet around her shoulder a bit higher and he too fell into a blissful sleep.


	4. Chapter 4: A friendly reunion

-1CHAPTER 4

Fox awoke to find Krystal, still asleep beside him, but she was now facing toward Fox instead of away. Fox gave her a quick lick on the cheek, which caused her to stir, and to gently awake.

"Hey handsome." She said as she stretched her arms into the air.

"Mornin', beautiful." Fox said back.

"We'd probably want to go ahead and get dressed and ready…I'm actually surprised Peppy hasn't gotten us on the VAC to tell us we're on the outskirts of the region."

Krystal nodded. "Not a bad idea. I'll go ahead and go get dressed." She said as she got up and lazily walked towards the door.

"Hey wait." Fox said.

"Yeah?"

Fox grabbed her around her waist and gave her a long passionate kiss before the door opened up.

"Love you." he said.

"You too."

He got his red bandanna his dad had given him years ago and tied it around his neck as he looked at the crimson display on his clock: 10:16 a.m. He walked out of his room and proceeded up to the bridge.

Peppy and Falco were the only ones in there. Peppy was sitting down at his console sipping on some coffee and Falco was _trying_ to eat a bagel, something nutritious for a change. He gave it up, tossed it in the trash can, and pulled a candy bar out of his pocket. Fox rolled his eyes.

"What's our ETA to Sargasso, Peppy?" Fox asked.

"Comin' up on 80 minutes and counting." Peppy said as he set his drink on top of the console.

"Fox, we're gonna need you and Slip-up to go inside the hideout and take control of it by any means. Falco and Krystal will give you guys air cover outside the base should any reinforcements arrive." Peppy said.

"Ok then. Is everybody else awake as well?" Fox asked. Peppy nodded. "Yep. I've done given them the briefing myself." Fox nodded, and excused himself from the bridge.

Fox walked off the bridge down to the ship's armory, knowing he'd be needing a _lot_ more than a standard-issue semi-auto blaster for this one.

He placed his eye in the retinal scanner and as the doors opened he smiled as he saw that the shelves inside the armory were filled with various assault rifles, sniper rifles, heavy machine guns, some rocket launchers, and pistols. Fox avoided the pistols as he walked among the shelves, deciding which weapons he should carry.

Fox checked his gear pack. His blaster was still there, just in case. He picked up an assault rifle, jammed a fresh clip into the magazine well and slung it over his back as he put a few magazines in one of the pouches.

He picked up five of the large yellow grenades and placed them carefully into their own pouch, so as not to hit the 'arm' button by mistake, and last but not least, Fox picked up a sniper rifle.

He rammed in a 10-round magazine, and stuffed a couple more in another magazine pouch, and walked back towards his Arwing.

Fox grabbed a ladder and set it up beside his left wing. He climbed up the ladder as he withdrew his assault rifle and laid it down on the wing.

Fox opened up a compartment located directly behind his cockpit and gently laid the sniper rifle inside as he flicked the safety to the 'on' position.

"Hey." Came Krystal's voice from behind. Fox jumped and hit his head on the opening of the compartment. Krystal burst out laughing so hard she nearly laughed herself into tears.

"Hey..." He said as he began blushing slightly and rubbed his head. Krystal climbed up the ladder to where Fox was and picked up the assault rifle that was still lying on the wing. "Wow. What are you going to need _this_ for?" She asked as she picked it up and looked at it.

"Well, Krys, whenever you're going inside a place that houses the _most_ dangerous criminals in the system, you'll need some heavy artillery to get the job done, and to not get killed yourself." Fox said.

Krystal smiled. "Be careful in there, Fox." She said. "Always." He said as she handed him the rifle and he put it inside of the compartment and closed the hatch. "Just be careful outside there yourself, Krystal, Ok?" Fox said with a smile.

"Are you saying that I can't handle myself out there!" Krystal said with a grin and put her hands on her hips.

"No, it's just that I worry about you, that's all." Fox said as he raised his arms in mock surrender. Krystal laid her head on his shoulder and rolled her eyes up to look at his. Fox gazed into her arresting eyes, trying to force himself to look away, but he couldn't.

"Don't worry. I'll be careful." She said as Fox put his arm around her shoulders. Fox could feel his tail twitching, and made sure to keep it on the side of his body farthest from Krystal so as not to hit hers but Fox felt Krystal's tail touch his, and he began to wrap his tail around hers, feeling himself blushing profusely under his fur.

"Aww...how _sweet_." Came Falco Lombardi's voice from behind them. Fox whirled around to see his friend standing a few feet away, with a smug grin on his face. Fox narrowed his eyes in frustration, and Falco only started laughing.

He said nothing and jumped from the wing to get Falco in a headlock, but not before helping Krystal down. He grabbed her by the waist and lowered her down, then smiled evilly at her. She knew what Fox was thinking. She nodded, and he smiled and ran towards Falco, who was still howling with laughter.

"Oh Shi...Oof." Falco said as Fox got him in a headlock and gave him a noogie.

"All right! All right! I give up!" Falco said as he struggled to break free from Fox. He let Falco go and he straightened the feathers on his head that Fox had really messed up. Fox laughed as the feathers continued to stick back up after Falco rubbed them down with his hands.

"You're really a smart elec, you know that, Falco." Fox said. "Hey, it's my job, Fox." Falco said. Krystal laughed at Falco's remark.

"Ok, guys. It's do or die time. Get to the Arwings." Came Peppy's voice over the comm.

"Well, I guess we're here." Falco said and walked to his and climbed in the cockpit. Krystal walked over to Fox as he neared the ladder to get inside the cockpit.

"Be careful." She said. Fox hugged her tight and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "You too, Krys." He said.

Krystal smiled and walked towards her arwing. Fox took a deep breath as he buckled himself in and closed the canopy. "Slippy, you got your weapons?" Fox asked.

"Yep. I got 'em." Slippy said. "Good. I would've thought you'd forget 'em. That's why I asked." Fox said over the comm and laughed.

"Shut up, Fox." Slippy said, obviously embarrassed. "Oh Fox. Someone from the hideout sent us a transmission saying that this was 'Lord O'Donnell's territory.' That name sound familiar to you, Fox?" Slippy said.

"Hmm...a little bit. I can't seem to quite place it, though. Oh well. Let's get this over with." Fox said as he released the locks on his Arwing. A chorus of "copy's came from the group and Fox hit the gas, pushing his head back against the seat once again, as everyone else followed in close behind him.

"Asteroids. A _bunch _of 'em." Falco said as they neared the coordinates that Peppy had transmitted to them.

"They're using them to conceal the hideout." Fox said. "Keep your guard up, guys. Don't hit any of 'em. They're huge." Fox said as he banked hard left, dodging one of them.

"Crap I don't even see it yet." Falco said. "Wait...is that...yeah. It is. To the left." Fox said as he threw his arwing into a kick spin, pointing his nose directly at the hideout.

"Well, at least it doesn't look all that big from here." Slippy said. "Don't get your hopes up, Slip-up. We're still pretty far away." Falco said. "Holy crap..." Fox said as they neared the hideout. The place was huge. There were four stabilizers at the bottom-most part of the hideout and it stretched up about what looked like ten stories. The docking bays on either side of it could dock a Cornerian battleship.

"Falco look. A battleship." Krystal said. Fox's heart jumped for a moment, but then he remembered that Krystal was just as much of a fighter, and a pilot, as he was.

"_She'll be fine. Her and Falco can take that damn thing head on…_" He thought.

"Ok you guys take care of that problem. Can you handle the outside alright?" Fox asked through the comm.

"Ten-four, Fox. We've got 'cha covered out here. You worry about your own hide, ok?" Falco radioed back.

"Got it. Krystal, take care of Falco out there for me." Fox said with a laugh.

"Yeah and I hope you get shot in the leg, McCloud." Falco said.

Fox rolled his eyes as he carefully piloted his arwing into the docking bay of the Sargasso hideout and pulled out his weapons from behind his seat as the autopilot kicked in, bringing him to a halt inside the landing bay.

Fox strapped the sniper rifle to his back and flipped off the safety on his assault rifle as he opened up the canopy.

"This is McCloud. I'm inside. How are things on your end of the area, Slip-up?" Fox asked.

"I'm in. Things aren't so bad over here." Slippy said in a hushed voice. "_Geez. It's about time he did something right._" Fox thought as Krystal giggled over the comm. Fox grinned as the noise of her laughter. He just remembered, again, that Krystal could read his thoughts.

"How's things up there so far?" Fox asked quietly into the comm so others inside wouldn't pick up on his voice.

"Don't worry about us, Fox. It's _all_ good from up here." Falco said just as Peppy's voice chimed in.

"Ok, Fox. Here's the game plan. You're going to need to take out as many of the transfer devices around here as you can. My scanners are---" Peppy began to say.

"Transfer devices?" Fox asked. "Well, let me finish, Fox. Chill." Peppy said.

"Sorry." Fox said with a grin.

"Anyway. Scanners are picking up ten of them. You've got to take out as many as you can find, preferably all of them. After that, then we'll be able to gain control of the hideout. But don't try to play hero. You're going to have a lot of resistance from here, and you're going to definitely be outnumbered here." Peppy said. Fox withdrew the AR, racked back the bolt, and crouched behind a wall while he studied his radar to find out where the transfer devices were placed.

"Well then the numbers are about even, then." He said to himself.

Fox looked around at the huge facility that towered before him. It was gigantic, to say the least. At least five more levels above him about the size of football fields. Maybe even more. Fox couldn't begin to imagine what would happen should this place become fully operational against the Cornerian Fleet.

This place had to be under Cornerian control, whether Pigma Dengar was here or not, and Fox knew that he was the right guy for the job. Unfortunately, the radar didn't have anything that could differentiate what levels the transfer devices were on. All they showed was if they were in front of him, beside him, or behind him, and the distance away from him.

"Ok, Slip. I'm gonna need your help on this one big time. There's ten of these damn things, and I we're pretty outnumbered." Fox said quietly into his wrist comm.

So far he hadn't seen any enemy activity in here. Just a couple of machines moving crates, probably containing some ammo or explosives, about the facility on his level. Fox walked out from behind the wall, AR in hand, still crouched. "_What's going on here_" He thought, looking around and not seeing any enemy infantry movement.

"Holy crap! There's this thing here shooting out soldiers!" Slippy whispered over the comm.

"Blow it, Slip. That's what we're looking for." Fox said. "Got it." Slippy said and Fox looked up to see an explosion a few levels above him, on a large catwalk. He grinned, but it quickly faded as the alarms came on, and the hideout flashed red around him as a voice sounded over the intercom, alerting the base of intruders.

"Crap." Fox said as he ran to the nearest crate for cover. Fox looked at his radar, and it showed a transfer device about twenty feet from him. He looked in that direction and saw nothing but crates, stacked two and three high.

Fox took out a grenade, pressed the 'arm' button, and tossed it behind the boxes. It exploded, and Fox looked to see an objective mark disappear from his radar.

"Transfer device destroyed." He said in his droning voice. Fox grinned and raised his AR to pick off the infantry that had come out from behind the boxes.

"Watch it, Slip! They're all over the place!" Fox yelled into the comm. Fox ran up the nearest stairway to an open area one level above him. Not a good idea.

Laser blasts surrounded him as he ducked and laid flat on the ground, shouldering his AR. Fox took careful aim for each of the troops he saw, and put a laser through each one's armor.

"Damn there's so many of 'em!" Falco said as he vaped another enemy fighter. "Krystal! Hit the fighters. I'll go after the battleships!" He said as he came out of cover of an asteroid and launched a nova at a battleship, blowing it into oblivion.

"Got it." Krystal said as she vaped a squadron of enemy fighters. Falco narrowed his eyes as he looked at the radar. Five battleships surrounded the hideout. Where they came from all of a sudden, he didn't know. Falco blazed away at the nearest battleship, nearly colliding with it as it exploded.

Falco glanced to the right, outside of the canopy, and saw a green blast fly right past his Arwing. Falco pulled a loop and actually saw the pilot in the enemy fighter as he got above the enemy craft.

Falco grinned at his look of shock and '_shit I'm screwed_' on the pilot's face as he painted it with hyper lasers and it exploded. He grinned as he saw a battleship explode in the distance, taking a bunch of fighters with it.

"Good goin', Krystal." He said. "Thanks. I try." She said sarcastically as she pulled a loop, getting an enemy fighter off her tail, and totaling it with laser fire. "_Be careful in there, Fox. Oh God please be careful..._" She thought over and over in her mind as she painted fighter after fighter coming from the battleships.

Fox rammed in another 50 rd. magazine into his AR and climbed the stairs, placed the gun at his hip and started blasting troops down below him. He got to the top of the stairs and rolled his eyes as he saw there still eight targets on the radar display.

"Slippy, I need you to--AHH!" Fox said as a nearby explosion threw him to the floor. He shook his head as he got up and dove behind a crate.

Fox pulled a grenade out of his pouch, stood up, and hurled it at a machine that was, just a few moments before, unloading crates, but had shot a wave of missles at him. The grenade exploded, and it took a few infantrymen with it.

"Listen up, you scum. We protect the hideout to the end." Someone said as Fox again dove behind the crate as it was painted with laser fire. Fox raised his AR over the crate and fired blindly into the crowd, taking out most of the troops. The remaining ones retreated, but Fox shot them before they got far.

He glanced at his radar to see that a transfer device was nearby, if it was on this level. Fox neared the contact, and saw the transfer device in a corner. Fox wasted the infantry surrounding it and fired his AR at it, wasting the transfer device, and emptying the clip.

Fox dropped it, rammed another one in, and racked the bolt back as he looked down at the bottom of the hideout, only to see a transfer device he had missed. Fox withdrew the sniper rifle, flicked off the safety, and kneeled down to get a better shooting position.

Just as Fox was going to pull the trigger, he heard a 'click' behind him.

Fox dropped the sniper rifle and turned around to see an ape soldier holding a pistol to his head. Fox kicked the pistol out of his hand into the air and jumped up to grab it. Fox landed and pointed the pistol right back at the ape. Fox smiled and squeezed the trigger. The ape fell back, lifeless, and came to rest on the floor.

Fox picked up the sniper rifle and kneeled down. He squeezed the trigger and winced at the recoil the sniper rifle had. Fox had hit the transfer device and he stood up, slung the sniper over his back, and rubbed his shoulder.

"_Wow_" he thought as he withdrew his AR. Fox looked up to see several consecutive explosions. "Slippy! Was that you!" He said into his wrist comm. "Yeah, Fox. Scratch three devices." Slippy said.

"Good. Three left." Fox said. He climbed another stairwell and saw slippy, who waved his own AR at Fox, feeling proud of himself. "Good goin' Slip-up." Fox said and patted his friend on the back.

"Wait, Fox. That's not all." Slippy said as he pulled a small remote-like object from his yellow jumpsuit.

"What the--" Fox began to say as Slippy pressed the button, causing an explosion a few levels below them. Fox cocked a brow. "Nice." He said. "But...Where's the last two!" He said. "Hmm...maybe there's another level. Try looking for some kind of elevator." Slippy said. "All right." Fox said and ran up the nearest staircase.

Fox got to the top, panting heavily as his adrenalin rush began to leave him. He put in a new clip in his AR and glanced around. This level was different.

It was one long walkway that went around the walls of the facility, making an O shape, with four doors, two on each side opposite each other. Fox ran for one of those doors. Right when he started, he heard a 'whizz' on the ground behind from a near miss from a laser blast and he whirled around to see three gun turrets, manned by their own ruffian, blazing away at Fox.

While constantly moving, Fox took out his sniper rifle and sighted each target. He fired three carefully aimed shots, and the turrets fell silent. Fox looked over the edge as he ran and his stomach dropped. He was a lot higher than he thought he was.

Fox got to the open door and stopped. He quickly turned his head around the corner, then pulled it back as quickly as he could.

"_Holy crap!_" He thought. There were thirty troops, and there were six gun turrets along with five of the missile robots in that hallway, waiting for him. Fox checked his ammo pouches. Two grenades left.

He pulled one out, pressed the 'arm' button, and tossed it into the hallway. He heard yells as the troops tried to make a run for it, then, BOOM. Fox peeked his head back around and all the infantry lay lifeless and the robots smoking, all their circuits fried by the blast.

Fox ran back out the door at the end of the hallway and it led him back to where he was. The long O-shaped walkway. Fox walked around slowly, not knowing what to expect, then felt a sudden jolt beneath him.

"Umm...Slippy. I found the elevator." He said as it ascended into a new area of the hideout. Fox shouldered his AR as the elevator reached the top, but there were no troops to be seen. Fox cocked a brow as he slowly lowered his rifle and walked inside.

"Slippy, I don't see--" Fox began to say but felt a sharp blow to the back of his head. Everything was blurry and spinning, then the metal floor of the Sargasso hideout rushed up to meet him as he fell.

When Fox awoke, his arms and legs were bound to a chair, his head was throbbing painfully, and he was surrounded by five of the ruffian troops, each armed with their own assault rifles. Fox looked around to see that all his gear was missing. "Fox!" Slippy yelled through the comm.

"Do you read me F-" Slippy said but one of the apes had it in his hand and smiled as he smashed it on the ground with the stock of his AR.

"_How…the hell did I get into this…?"_ Fox thought. One of the apes slung his AR over his back and walked towards Fox. "You look familiar…have we met?" He asked. Fox said nothing.

"Who are you!" The ape said again as he hit Fox in the face with the stock of his AR. Fox let his head hang over to one side for a moment, then brought it back upright, staring down at the ground. Fox broke out into a sweat, mainly from the pain of the blast, but also from the anger that had just erupted inside him because of the lowlife that had dealt him the hit.

Fox could taste blood in his mouth and he felt a bit flow down from his face where the ape had struck him in the side. Fox still said nothing as the ape reared back his rifle again for another hit. Fox winced at the sudden pain that the synthetic rifle stock had to offer. "_Krystal, I hope you can hear this…I'm in some real deep crap up here…"_ Fox thought.

Krystal gasped. "Oh God." She said. "What? What is it, Krys?" Falco asked as he dodged and blew a squadron of fighters to bits.

"Fox is in trouble. Take care of the battleships for me, Falco. I'm going in myself." Krystal said as she threw her Arwing into a kick spin and pointed the nose straight at the facility entrance.

"But Krystal! I can't take all the-" Falco began to say. "Now's not the time! You can handle them; I know you can!" She yelled. Falco said nothing. Krystal parked her arwing in the docking bay and picked up her blaster as the canopy opened. "_Come on, Fox! I'm in the building. Where are you!_" She thought, fearing for the worst…his mind patterns had begun to fade since the last one.

Fox winced as the ape hit him, yet again, with the rifle stock. "Not planning to talk, are you…?" He asked.

"Fox McCloud." He answered weakly. "Oh...The _famous _Fox McCloud." The ape said sarcastically as the others laughed and one of them lit up a cigarette. Fox looked at the ape with utter hate with his one good eye he had left. The other had swollen shut due to the numerous impacts of the rifle stock against his face.

"Now, Fox McCloud. What are you doing here?" The ape asked, nearing Fox. He put his face practically unbearably close to Fox's to try and intimidate him. He was so close Fox could feel, and smell, his putrid, smoke-stained breath hit his face. "Looking...for Pigma Dengar." Fox said wearily.

The ape nodded, almost in understanding. "Sure you are…" He said sarcastically, not believing what Fox had said.

"_Topmost…facility…elevator…_" Was all Krystal could read out of Fox's last noticeable mind pattern. She thanked God for her telepathy as she set off in a run towards the staircase. "Krystal!" Came Slippy's voice as she reached the level where he was. "Where's Fox!" He asked.

"I...don't...know..." She said as she caught her breath. "All I got from him was that he's in the highest part of the facility. That's all I know." She said. "Krystal, you're gonna need this." Slippy said and tossed his assault rifle to her.

Krystal caught it and tossed Slippy her blaster. "You gonna be all right, Slip-up?" She asked.

"Sure. By the way, there's the elevator." Slippy said and pointed at it. Krystal nodded and ran towards the elevator. She checked the Gauge on the side of the AR. 50 rds and planted the stock on her shoulder, just as Fox had shown her earlier, as it reached the top...

Fox could hear faint laser blasts outside the door and all the apes turned towards it, a look of fear on their faces. "Oh…shit." One of them said.

Fox laughed. "Damn you guys are screwed…" One of the apes grabbed the fur on Fox's head and pulled back on it. "You're not alone? Well…that's two birds dead with one stone." He said menacingly. Fox reared back and spit in the ape's face.

"Like…hell." He said weakly.

The guard gave Fox another hit with the rifle stock, nearly knocking him out cold.

"We can hold out 'till the boss gets back." He said as he walked towards the door and hit the open switch. "_Whatever's out there, we're probably screwed._" another ape thought.

With receiving that thought, Krystal hid behind a box as she shot the last soldier in the hallway. She heard a door slide open and footsteps following that noise.

She stood up, shouldered the AR, and wasted the five infantry troops that came out, careful not to hit anything behind them. "Oh dear God...Fox!" She said as she ran inside the room where Fox was being held captive. Fox barely possessed the strength to speak.

Krystal untied the ropes holding his arms and legs to the chair and helped him stand up. Fox teetered from side to side a bit, but kept his balance.

"Wow...aren't you a sight for sore eyes." Fox said and smiled weakly. Krystal felt a tear run down her cheek as she looked at her battered friend.

He was a wreck. His left eye was swollen, he had cuts and bruises all over his body, and he was bleeding pretty badly. Krystal smiled and rubbed his forehead. Fox stared into her blue arresting eyes, and she in his.

Krystal leaned forward and kissed Fox. Fox returned it but just as soon as it began, it ended as Krystal pulled away, a faint sound of a gunshot falling into her ear. "Sorry that was a bit quick. We can get back to that later." She said as she tossed Fox one of the ape's rifles.

"That'd be nice." He said as he gave the bolt a good pull to the back, chambering a fresh cartridge.

"Well, Krystal, you're one heck of a navigator." Fox said. "Thanks. It seems you're a glutton for punishment though, love." She said.

"It follows the line of work."

"You ready to get that last transfer device?" Krystal said with a smirk. "I'll take point." Fox said and picked up one of the ape's pistols lying on the ground and smiled at her. Fox picked up his gear pack and strapped it on.

"All right, this is what we're here for. Give me some cover, Krystal." Fox said as he shouldered the rifle.

Fox knew that the only thing that was keeping him going, besides the adrenaline, was the thought of Krystal. He wasn't doing this for himself, and he was so badly beaten that he shouldn't have gone on to go after that last transfer device, but he did anyway.

Fox walked down the hallway, not seeing anymore troop movement as Krystal walked a few feet in behind and to the right of him, AR pointed ahead. Fox stopped at a corner and his ears went back to full alert. He could hear the hums of the turrets just around the wall as he held up his hand to signal her to stop.

"Got any grenades?" He said as he looked back at Krystal. She nodded her head and slowly exposed one from her own gear pack on her back. She tossed it to Fox, and to her surprise, he caught it.

Fox pointed to the ground, signifying for her to take cover, and pressed the 'arm' button. He tossed it around the corner and heard yells of surprise as he dove to the ground and covered his head.

As soon as the explosion had dissipated, before Fox could even get up, Krystal was out in the open with her AR at her hip, blazing away at the stragglers. Krystal slung her AR to her back and turned around to help Fox up.

He smiled weakly as he took his AR in one hand, and her hand in the other as he got up and re-shouldered his rifle.

Fox stopped at a huge double door, almost twice his height and Krystal looked at her radar.

"This is our target here." She said. Fox adjusted the AR in his right hand and was about to press the button to open the door when Krystal stopped him.

"Not yet." She said. Fox's finger stopped just a few inches from the button and he turned around and cocked a brow.

"Fox, there's a lot of 'em in there. I can hear their thoughts. They're waiting for us in there, and I don't know if we can take them. I'm almost out of ammo." She said to him.

Fox nodded, and was about to speak when she started talking into her comm. "Slippy, Krystal here. I got Fox out. He's really beat up and we need your help up here. Find us on radar and meet us up here." Krystal said.

"Acknowledged. I'll be there as soon as I can." Slippy said. Fox's vision began to blur, and he began to wobble from side to side. "Krystal I..." He began to say as he fell.

Krystal dropped her rifle and ran over to Fox to catch him before he fell. He was out cold due to blood loss, and let alone being beaten practically senseless. Krystal gently set him down right before he fell unconscious. She picked up his AR and held it in her left hand.

She figured she could handle two, one of them in each hand, if the need being. Slippy came up from below not long after she had set Fox on the ground, far away from the door, and returned, still with an AR in each hand.

"Where's Fox!" He asked. "I had to set him down somewhere. He's gone unconscious, and that last transfer device is in there. He's about thirty yards behind me, Slip. He needs your help more than I do." She said. Slippy nodded and walked back to where Fox was lying and returned some minutes later, placing a roll of gauze tape back into one of the pockets in his yellow jumpsuit.

"He'll be ok. Just a bit shaky, but he should be fine…I don't know about that left eye though.Should be fine."

Krystal nodded and wiped some sweat off her brow as Slippy looked quizzically at the door.

"So we're...going in there?" He said and pointed his AR at the door. Krystal nodded and smiled at him. Slippy gulped noticeably and said, "Ok...I guess I'm ready." Krystal grinned at his thoughts of worry. "You'll be fine. Just cover me, Slippy." She said as Slippy walked over to the button that opened up the door and Krystal walked on the opposite side of the door. She nodded and Slippy pressed the button.

The door slid open and one of the soldiers cocked a brow, since he didn't see anyone outside. He slowly walked outside of the room and was met with a laser blast from Slippy's sidearm. Krystal jumped right where he had been standing and blazed away at the troops with both ARs at her hips before they had a chance to return fire. She got all of them, but the ARs didn't work on the missile robot inside.

"That's new!" She exclaimed in frustration as she dove for cover behind the wall.

Slippy held the trigger on his blaster, and to Krystal's surprise, it held the energy back as it charged. Slippy grinned as he watched the gauge rise to full power.

"Check this out." He said with a grin.

He walked into the line of sights of the robot and fired the blaster just as it was preparing to launch a wave of missles at him, the blast of the pistol nearly knocking him off his feet as the robot was enveloped in a huge explosion.

Slippy walked in the room and destroyed the transfer device as Krystal ran back to Fox to try and get him woken up. Krystal kneeled down and placed his head on her knee as she stroked his forehead, trying to wake him up while she waited for Slippy.

"We've got to get him out of here, Krystal. Before more of them show up."

"You sure he'll be ok?" She asked, feeling slightly worried.

"Yeah. He's lost some blood, but he'll be fine. We've got to get him out of here." Slippy said as Krystal picked him up, one arm behind his knee caps and the other around his neck.

Slippy took one of her ARs and made sure there weren't any stragglers as Krystal made her way to the bottom of the facility. They reached Fox's arwing, and Krystal placed him, rather gently, on the wing as she climbed up herself.

Slippy jumped up and handed Fox to her as she got situated in the cockpit. "I wish they would make these things in double seater models or something." Krystal said as he handed Fox to her. "Yeah...me too." Slippy said and jumped down off the wing. Krystal hit the startup and pointed the nose outside of the hideout, and pushed up the throttle.

As Krystal was carrying Fox to the medical bay, still unconscious, she met up with Peppy on the way there. "Oh my..." Was all Peppy could say.

"Yeah. He's been beat up pretty bad." Krystal said as she entered the medical lab. "Call ROB down here, could ya?" She asked. Peppy nodded and quickly walked out. ROB returned a moment later and asked, as always, "What is the nature of the emergency." "Why don't you look for yourself?" Krystal said to him.

"Moderate..." ROB said as he walked over to Fox. "Minor abrasions, swollen eyelid, blood loss..." ROB began as he analyzed Fox's damage aloud and recorded it in his memory.

When Fox _finally _woke up, he was in his quarters laying down in just his boxers and a tank top, and the first thing he saw, with both eyes now, was Krystal's face over him.

"Hey handsome." She said with a smile as she rubbed his forehead with a damp cloth. She leaned down to kiss Fox, and he returned it as he stroked the back of her head with his hand. Fox pulled away and asked,

"What happened...I don't remember anything after you broke me out of there." "Well, It's very...interesting." She said. Fox cocked a brow. "You don't even remember getting up and going after that last device after you kissed me?" She asked. "Well, I remember kissing you. That's all." He said. "Wow...anyway, you went out right before you were about to press the button to the door that had the last transfer device inside it."

"Well, Did I?" Fox asked. Krystal shook her head. "No. I told you to stop, that there were a bunch of troops waiting for you. Then you went out, so..." She said with a smirk.

"What?" Fox implied. "Well, I had _my _assault rifle, and apparently you weren't using yours at the time, so I decided to take yours also." She said. "So what'd you do? Use yours and strap mine on your back in case it ran out?" Fox asked. Krystal shook her head and Fox laughed.

"How did you do that! You managed one rifle in each hand?" Fox asked. "Yes, I did. Do you _still_ not think I can't handle myself out there?" She said. "No it's just that...dang, Krystal, those things aren't exactly BB guns either." Fox said. Krystal giggled.

"Guess I don't know my own strength." She said. "Heck, neither do I anymore." Fox said and laughed. Krystal moved her head down and kissed Fox on the forehead.

"I guess I got that strength because I love you. I couldn't stand seeing you hurt like that." She said. Fox moved up his head and kissed her as he embraced her and pulled her down to him.

Fox's eyes, along with Krystal's, closed as they became oblivious to the world around them, locked in a passionate kiss, until the ship's VAC chimed in a few minutes later. "_Dang!_" Fox thought. Krystal laughed and got up to see who it was.

"Fox! You've got to head back down there! It turns out that 'Lord O'Donnell' is your old 'friend' Wolf." Peppy said.

Fox's jaw dropped as he sat up in the bed. "It's been a while since I've seen him." Fox said as he got up, but fell back down on the bed due to disorentation. "No, Fox. Stay here. We can take care of them." Krystal said as she sat beside him on the bed. "_I could use the spare Ar-_" Fox thought.

"No. Promise me, Fox, that you'll stay here. Trust me. We can handle Wolf." Krystal said. "Krystal I can't do that. If you're down there takin' fire, I'm gonna be down there with you, no matter _what_ condition I'm in. It's my job." Fox said with a grin and gazed into her clear blue eyes.

He tried to look away, but he couldn't as he waited for Krystal's response. She kissed him and said, "Just as stubborn as ever, Fox McCloud." She said with a grin.

"You know it." Fox said as he got dressed in his flight outfit and walked towards the hangar. Fox climbed in the spare Arwing, and Krystal back in Fox's own. "You ready?" She asked over the comm as Fox strapped himself in. "Always." He said and hit the startup and accelerated out of the hangar, Krystal behind him.

"Damn!" Falco said as laser fire nearly scorched his arwing. "Three on one are REALLY CRAPPY ODDS!" He said in anger. "_Where the HECK is Fox and Krystal!_" He thought.

"Right here." Krystal said as she punched the throttle to full and hit the hyper lasers. "Hey, Wolf. That you?" Fox said sarcastically as he got one of the Wolfens in his line of sight.

Before Wolf could answer, a new voice chimed in. "Allow me to introduce myself, Mr. McCloud. I'm Panther Calroso, and all who see my rose have met death." He said. "_Oh give me a freakin' break_." Fox thought as he shot his lasers at the Wolfen, hitting it a few times, but not doing any visible damage.

"I'm not doin' any damage! What's the trick to these things!" Fox said as he continued to hit the Wolfen with laser fire, still doing no damage. "Lock on, Fox! Hey...what are you doing out there?" Came Peppy's voice over the comm.

"Nothing..." Fox said evilly and locked on to the Wolfen and fired, disabling its engine systems on the ship. "Damn!" Panther said as he frantically tried to restart his Wolfen and get the systems back online, but failed.

"I found a weak spot! Lock on to their engines to disable them. Don't kill 'em…yet. Remember, we need to find out where Pigma is!" Fox said as Wolf came on his tail. He was having one heck of a time trying to dodge Wolf's lasers, considering that Wolf was at least 20 years older than Fox, and just as good, if not better, than he was, but Fox had something else up his sleeve.

Fox threw his Arwing into a loop, and came out with Wolf right in front of him. "Just like old times, O'Donnell." Fox said as he got a lock on Wolf's ship, but missed. "Don't mess with me, Fox." Wolf said.

Fox's Arwing shook violently as one of his wings was sheared off by a laser from Leon Powalski's Wolfen. Fox cursed under his breath as he struggled to regain control of his Arwing, which was heading for the Sargasso hideout.

"_Come on...come on..._" Fox thought as he pulled up on the flight stick as hard as he could. The Arwing continued it's same heading. Fox pushed the stick downward, and threw his Arwing in sort of a reverse U-turn, steering him away from the hideout as he regained control. "You Ok, Fox?" Krystal asked. "Never better." He said as he got Wolf in his sights.

Krystal winced as she noticed a few laser blasts fly by, dangerously close to her Arwing. She did a barrel and threw her Arwing into a loop, bringing the Wolfen back into her sights.

"Hrmph. That's no way to treat a lady. Eat this!" Krystal said as she locked on and fired, hitting the sweet spot and disabling the Wolfen. "It can't be...I've been beaten..." Panther's voice came over the comm.

"What! I already disabled you! How'd you get your engine back after I blew it up!" Fox asked angrily at Panther. He didn't acknowledge, and Fox let a charged blast fly at Wolf's wolfen, knocking the engine out cold.

"I got Leon!" Falco said over the comm. Leon mumbled something over the comm that sounded like it referred to Falco's mother. "What was that!" Falco said. Leon said nothing. "That's enough for now, Fox." Wolf said.

"Enough of this crap already, Wolf. We didn't come here to mess with you guys. We cam-" Fox began to say. "That's easy for you to say after all you've done, McCloud." Wolf said. "Anyway, Pigma is no longer part of Star Wolf. I personally kicked him out a while ago. If he'd shown himself here, my men would've killed him." Wolf said.

"But...then where else could Pigma go?" Krystal asked to nobody in particular. Panther whistled over the comm and said, "Ahh...the lovely Krystal. Words do you no just--."

"Hey! She's with _me_!" Fox yelled, as he reached for the nova bomb launcher. "Who's this dumb a-" Falco began to say. "Quiet, bir-" "What was that!" "How could I resist this beauty?" Panther said as Fox's finger quivered nervously over the launcher, locked on to Panther's ship.

"I believe the communication records will point you to Fichina." Panther said.

" Idiot. You talk too much." Wolf said.

"Remember this, McCloud. One day, I am personally going to take you out. Leon! Panther! Let's get out of here." He said and hit his warp drive. "Whew. Glad they're gone. I'm kicking his ass!" Fox said.

"Oh forget him. Remember, Fox. I love you. Not him." Krystal said and giggled. Falco let out a quiet laugh over the comm.

"Let's get out of here. Fichina's a good day's journey from here. It's on the other side of the system, and who knows what Pigma is up to." Fox said.

A chorus of 'copy's came from the rest of the team as Slippy's Arwing joined them. A beep sounded on Fox's HUD, signifying that slippy's comm. system had just come online.

"The hideout is under control. What'd I miss, Fox?" He asked. Fox rolled his eyes.

"Nothing, Slippy...nothing."

"Ok." Slippy said. "Let's get out of here."

"Sounds good." Krystal said as Fox punched up the throttle and headed back to the Great Fox.


	5. Chapter 5: A cold reception

CHAPTER 5

Fox McCloud parked his Arwing in the usual spot in the Great Fox hangar and walked to his room to take a nice, long, _hot _shower. He was still hurting pretty bad from the Sargasso mission, even though he had received medical treatment. Lucky for Fox, he still had the sight in his left eye, something he truly didn't expect.

"Well, Fox. That was some reunion." Falco said as he came up beside Fox. Fox nodded.

"Yeah...good to see some old friends." Fox said sarcastically.

"Oh yes...always."

"So how long have we got until we get to Fichina?" Slippy asked.

"Oh...about a day or so. It's on the other side of the system." Fox said.

"Well at least we'll be able to land easily. That climate control center was a Godsend." Falco said.

"Yeah. That's good. Fichina's an arctic planet all-around, and those blizzards were something else. I heard they were hell trying to navigate through." Slippy said.

"All right, here's my stop. I'll see you guys later." Fox said as he stopped at his quarters. Krystal stopped with him. Falco grinned evilly and Fox glared at him.

Fox waited for Falco and Slippy to get out of his sight, then turned to Krystal and rolled his eyes. Krystal laughed.

"Thanks again, Krys. I really owe you one for that back there." Fox said and hugged her.

Krystal pulled away a minute or two later and said "Anytime, Fox." Fox smiled.

"Well, I've got to get a shower and go to sleep. I'm so tired I can barely see straight."

"All right, Fox. I'm sure you can take that mission." She said sarcastically. Fox's eyes got wide.

"Oh no! Not...the shower..." He said. Krystal laughed.

"See you later, Fox." She said and walked towards her quarters. She walked a little way, then turned her head back around to look at him. Fox waved and she smiled and turned her head back around and continued walking to her quarters.

Fox opened up the door and tossed his flight jacket towards the same chair and once again, he missed. Fox took off his flight suit and had the best shower of his life. He got out, got dressed in boxers and a gray shirt and sat down at the chair he had thrown his jacket towards earlier.

He pressed a button at the corner of the desk, and a small monitor came up from under it with the Starfox logo on it, and Fox said "Access Cornerian Military data on planet Fichina."

"Access requires level 1 clearance." The computer said back.

"Fox McCloud, Leader, Alpha Lambda 214." Fox said and the computer beeped and brought up a long list of information on the planet.

"Hmm..." Fox said as he scrolled down the pages of data. He found a paragraph labeled 'Climate Control Center'. Fox raised a brow as he began to read the paragraph. '...made habitation on Fichina possible...uses graviton beam to balance climatic patterns...' it read but nothing on it's current condition. Fox was afraid that Pigma would try to sabotage it, rendering Fichina uninhabitable and practically impenetrable by StarFox. "_If he's sabotaged it..._" He thought.

Fox rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger in an attempt to stay awake. His eyelids were heavy, and his eyes were watering from tiredness. About half an hour passed, and Fox finally shut off the computer and went to lay down and get some well-needed rest.

Fox rolled over on his side and flicked off the light on the night table with his picture in it of his dad in it. The room was completely black, except for a small sliver of light right under his door where the crack was. He stared up at the ceiling, even though he couldn't see it, and yawned as he began to doze off.

When Fox awoke, he couldn't have heard worse news. While he was getting dressed, his VAC chimed in. "Fox, we've got problems." Falco said.

"Let me guess. The climate control center is down." Fox said as he put on his flight jacket over his green shirt. Falco nodded.

"How far away are we from Fichina?" Fox asked. "Umm...about twenty minutes." Falco said as he looked off screen and typed on something.

Fox switched off the VAC, grabbed his blaster, and headed for the bridge.

"What's the situation, Falco?" Fox asked as he walked onto the bridge.

"I guess it's our lucky day, Fox. The blizzards are back, and the center is completely offline."

"Just our luck..."

"Slippy, have you overhauled the Landmaster yet?"

"Yep, all ready for you, Fox. Just _try_ to bring it back in one piece this time." Slippy said.

"I can't make any promises, you know that." Fox said with a grin. Slippy rolled his eyes.

"All right I'm heading down to the hangar. Have that landmaster on the ground for me when I get there, Ok Slip-up?" Fox asked

"I'm on it."

Fox nodded and left the bridge. Krystal followed him out, but Fox didn't notice.

"Fox if you're going on the ground then I'm going with you." She said

"What? No. That Landmaster won't hold two."

"I know, but I'm used to the cold. Cerinia was normally a pretty cold place year-round, Fox."

Fox sighed. "All right, but you're gonna need a really big jacket. I'm telling you. It's negative temperatures down there." Fox said, with great reluctance.

Krystal nodded and Fox smiled at her. "Watch yourself down there." He said and pulled her into a kiss.

"Always." she said as she pulled away and walked down to the ship's armory as Fox turned and headed for the hangar.

Fox laid his blaster on the floorboard of the Arwing and hit the startup as he put on his wrist comm and disengaged the lift locks.

"All right, Fox. Slippy should have that Landmaster to you shortly after you land." Peppy said over the comm.

Fox nodded and hit the throttle, accelerating out of the hangar at a blinding speed. Fox looked at Fichina, which loomed larger by the second as it came into view. It was all white. One big ice cap. All of the clouds were flickering on and off from bolts of lightning from the planet wide storms. This was worse than anything Fox could've imagined.

He was scared to see what would be underneath those clouds when he got to them. Fox could see some fire lapping around the nose of his Arwing as Krystal's Arwing came into his field of view on his right wing.

"All right, I'm hitting the atmosphere. I'll contact you guys when Krystal and I reach the surface." He said as he grinned and cut communication.

Fox parked his Arwing about fifty meters from the climate control center in, what appeared to be an open field according to radar, grabbed his blaster and jumped out of the cockpit into the harsh landscape of Fichina.

Krystal parked her Arwing beside his and walked over to Fox, who was checking the ammo count on his blaster and looking around for the Landmaster to appear.

"Wow...it's just a _bit_ chilly out here." Fox said with extreme sarcasm.

"Weather's fine to me." Krystal said with a grin. Fox rolled his eyes and took his digital binoculars out of his back and aimed them at the CCC (Climate Control Center). Fox was surprised at what he saw. A huge green and blue ring surrounding it, reaching up as far as his eyes could see.

"ROB, scan the Center." Fox said.

"Scanning...the Climate Control Center is protected by a shield." Rob said. Fox gritted his teeth. "Oh just _great._ Slippy, I need that Landmaster _now._" Fox said.

"Well, I'm still trying to transport it, but it won't go through for some reason. Something wrong with the transmitter."

Fox rolled his eyes. "Well that freakin' figures. Luck is always on my side, it seems. Well, I guess we'll have to blow these things up ourselves until the Landmaster shows up."

"Good. A mission together." Krystal said. Fox grinned and nodded. She smiled and walked back to her Arwing.

"What are--oh wow..." Fox said as he cocked a brow. Krystal had opened up the compartment in her Arwing and pulled out one of the several rocked launchers held by the Great Fox. She grinned as she handed it to Fox, and she took his blaster along with her own.

Fox looked at the ammo gauge on the launcher. One round. "Krys, how many shield generators do we have to hit?" Fox asked.

"Radar's picking up two of 'em."

"Well that's great. One round and two generators." Fox said as he checked his wrist radar. One of the two generators was only thirty feet away but Fox couldn't see it, or anything else for that matter. The snowstorm was planet-wide. The cold was causing his eyes to burn, and the snow was always getting in them and his fur.

"Umm...Peppy. What do these generators look like anyway?" Fox said into the comm over the deafening noise of the storm. Fox had to hold his wrist up to his ear just to barely hear Peppy's voice.

"Records show they're fifty feet tall. You should see them when you get closer to them."

"Fifty feet! _How_ can I destroy something fifty friggin' feet tall?" Fox asked in disbelief.

"Hit the power supply. It should be halfway up the structure on the side facing _away_ from the climate control center."

"Got it." Fox said and jogged towards the nearest target, but stopped dead in his tracks, ears pointed all the way back to full alert.

"What is it, Fox?" Krystal asked. "_Wait. I can hear something._" Fox thought. Krystal nodded as Fox gently set the rocket launcher down on the ground and Krystal tossed him a blaster. Fox's eyes narrowed as he became even more alert and at the same time try to see what was out there. He steadied his blaster and fired a few aimed shots of green energy into the blizzard around him. Krystal did the same.

Fox began to fire even faster into the blizzard as he heard a rather familiar sound.

"Aparoids!" He yelled. The sound he heard was of the one on Katina after he had shot an aparoid's limbs off, and heard it cry in pain. Fox took off in a run towards the generator, shielding his eyes with his arm the best he could, with Krystal behind him, firing into the blizzard, covering his back.

"Wow this blizzard's something else." He said to himself as he neared the generator. He glanced up towards the sky and he could barely see the top of it. "There it is." Fox said. Krystal nodded as Fox steadied the RL on his right shoulder and flipped out the eyepiece with his left hand. He looked through it until the numbers read 25.00 ft. Fox got it as close as he could to that number and gently squeezed the trigger.

The rocket went towards the generator and exploded in a huge ball of orange flames, temporarily illuminating the area where Fox and Krystal were standing. Fox grinned. "One target down."

"Good. The landmaster's on its way, Fox." Peppy said over the comm.

Fox looked at the radar and saw that there were lot more yellow blips on it, and they were moving towards him. All of them.

Now Fox was shivering from the cold. His flight suit was designed to keep in his own body heat, but this was too much. "Fox!" Krystal asked. Fox shook his head.

"I'm fine. Now come on, we've got to get to that Landmaster. Stay behind me, Krystal. And Keep shooting!" He yelled over the deafening roar of the blizzard and drew his blaster and fired blindly into the blizzard as Krystal did the same.

"How far away is it?" She asked.

"About thirty yards." Fox yelled and took off in a run towards the Landmaster.

Fox and Krystal arrived at the Landmaster a few minutes, and by now Fox had ice forming on his fur and on his suit. He climbed on top of the Landmaster, still shooting into the storm, and flipped open the canopy and jumped in and strapped on his harness.

"Krystal, you hear me?" He said into the comm.

"Loud and clear."

"Ok I can see you on radar. I'm gonna need you to cover the tank while I take out the generators." He said.

"Will do, Fox." Krystal said and Fox hit the gas and headed towards the second shield generator.

Fox glanced at the Landmaster's radar to see it was covered with yellow dots, and most of them were moving towards him from every direction. Fox fired round after round into the snowstorm, which by now had intensified and obscured his vision completely. If he lost radar, his hopes of finding that last generator were gone.

He could feel the Landmaster shudder as he plowed through the armada of aparoid resistance that lay before him. Finally Fox saw it. A bright red dot on radar, to his right, facing Northeast.

"Krystal, you holding up OK out there?"

"Never better."

Fox grinned as the remaining shield generator came into targeting range, but he felt an unexpected jolt and heard an explosion. He turned the Landmaster to the nearest contact and fired several rounds in it's direction.

He didn't feel another jolt after that. Fox accelerated to the far side of the pillar and aimed the turret upward until the crosshairs turned red. He charged up a laser blast, and let it fly. He heard the explosion, and glanced at the Climate Control Center's shield. It slowly dissipated and as soon as Fox saw it disappear, Fox headed straight for it.

"Fox look for an entrance. I don't think there's one that'll fit the Landmaster." Peppy said.

Fox parked the Landmaster beside the Center and climbed out of the cockpit, back into the unforgiving environment of Fichina's snowstorm. He felt alongside the Center with his right hand, trying to find a door of some kind. He kept his blaster in his left, firing into the snowstorm to keep the aparoids at 'arm's length.'

"I...can't...find a door." Fox said, but barely. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering uncontrollably from the cold, frostbite beginning to affect his hands and feet.

"Fox!"

"I-I'm f-fine." He said in his wrist comm through chattering teeth. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to him, Fox found a keypad but as he felt past the small keypad a few feet he found a door, closed.

"P-peppy I've found a keypad. I need you t-to open the door for me."

"I'll try." Peppy said through the comm. Fox paced back and forth, trying to keep warm, while he prayed that Peppy would be able to override the keypad console. By now Fox's fingers were completely numb, and he had to look at his blaster in his left hand just to make sure he was still holding it. He was, and out of frustration, fired several charged rounds at the door, causing little more than a scratch.

"Peppy get this damn door already! I'm about to die out here!"

"Sorry, Fox...I...I can't override the console."

"Peppy...you da--"

"Fox! Get back from the door!" Krystal said over the comm. Fox dove into the snow out of instinct and the it exploded, sending it flying into the snowstorm out of Fox's vision.

"W-what was t-that?"

Then he saw what caused the door to explode. The Landmaster rolled into view out of the treacherous snowstorm and Krystal climbed out of the cockpit after it had come to a stop.

"W-wow you're a sight for s-sore eyes."

"Fox you're completely frozen." Krystal said as she ran over to him and took him in her arms. Fox was shivering uncontrollably as Krystal carried him to the Landmaster and set him inside the cockpit, the only place on the planet where it was warm.

She gently set him in the seat of the Landmaster and kissed him on the cheek. 

"You'll be all right." She said. Fox looked up at her dark blue eyes, but couldn't say anything through his constant trembling. "_I love you._" He thought.

"You too, Fox." she said and closed the canopy and proceeded into the Climate Control Center.

The Climate Control Center was a circular room, about fifty feet in diameter, with a tall rectangular mainframe unit on a raised platform in the middle of the room, and it was about a foot taller than Krystal. The floor was blue and the Center had a small vent that circled the length of the ceiling, with a few snowflakes falling in occasionally.

Krystal glanced around the room for any immediate threats. Seeing none, she approached the mainframe, looking and walking around it searching for some kind of accessible console. After walking around three sides of it, she found a keyboard extending slightly from the unit, and a monitor directly above the keyboard. Krystal placed her blaster in her thigh holster and studied the keyboard. Standard Cornerian alphabet. "_At least it isn't some kind of ancient language."_ She thought. She felt along the left side of the keyboard and found a small button. She pressed it, and the mainframe hummed to life.

"Good work, Fox. The Center is back up. Now just get that beam back." Peppy said a moment after the mainframe was activated.

"Peppy it's Krystal here. The cold here hit Fox worse than any of us thought it would. He's got some frostbite on his limbs, but he'll be ok. He's warming up in the Landmaster."

"Oh my...Well, all right. Glad to hear he'll be ok."

"Yes, I am too." Krystal said. "I'm going to try to get the beam back online."

Peppy Hare sat in Fox's chair on the bridge, waiting anxiously for the Control Beam to come back online. He drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair nervously as he stared at the viewscreen, showing Fichina still shrouded in monstrous snowstorms. "_Come on, Krystal. Just don't get killed in there..._" He thought. Then he saw it on the planet. The clouds began to dissipate from over the planet.

"Good goin' Krystal. Now get Fox a--"

"Peppy...I've got some problems down here." Came Krystal's voice over the radio.

"What's the matter." Peppy said as Falco walked onto the bridge.

"I've gotten the system back online, but it seems that I've activated some sort of defense system." Krystal said over the comm.

"Krystal, what was that noise?"

"Laser blasts. They've got bots in here coming after me." Krystal said as she moved her head slightly, dodging a laser blast, and fired a few rounds into one of the several sentry model defense bots, doing no damage.

Fox sat in the Landmaster, still warming up from the unforgiving environment of Fichina as he heard Krystal's report over the comm. He was instantly alert as he heard the laser blasts over the comm system.

"Krystal!"

"Fox. You're all right." Krystal said.

"Yeah I'm fine, but you've got your hands full. I've got an idea. It's crazy, but I think...I think it'll work."

"All right, Fox, what is it? I'm all ears." Krystal said as she fired more rounds into the bots, which were closing on her even faster. 

"I need you to destroy one of the bots, and find out what frequency it operates on." Fox said.

"What!"

"I know. It sounds impossible, but trust me. You've got to do this if you want to get out of there alive."

"But I'm not doing any damage to them. The charged rounds aren't even scratching them."

"I know this model of sentries. You've got to wait until the armor opens up and expose their weapons. That's the only vulnerable spot on 'em." Fox said.

"Ok...I trust you."

"All right. Just keep your blaster aimed steady, and wait for it." Fox said.

Krystal nodded her head and got a sight picture on her blaster. One of the bots moved up, and went up in the air about ten feet. She looked at it, keeping the others in view out of the corner of her eye, and it opened up. She fired an aimed shot, and the sentry came careening towards the Center's floor in a ball of flames. Krystal picked up a small yellow box, the bot's CPU, that had fallen close to her feet. Glancing at the numbers written on one side of it, she found the frequency of it's operation.

"Ok, Fox. I've got it. The frequency is two hundred fifty gigahertz. Set the EMP for that." Krystal said as she fired another round at a bot, destroying it in a ball of flame.

"Got it." Fox said as he typed frantically on the keyboard in the Landmaster, desperately trying to get the EMP sent. Fox typed in the frequency and hit the 'enter' key and watched the screen as it showed a computer graphic of the EMP shooting out of the radar dish.

"Did it do anything, Krystal!"

"Well they...wait...oh no." Krystal said.

"Krystal! Take cover!" Came Falco's voice over the comm.

Krystal looked at Fichina's dark sky and saw a small flash of light. That light grew bigger and came towards her position faster and faster. She dove behind the mainframe and sat down with her head covered in her hands as she heard numerous laser blasts directly behind her, and then the whole Center shook violently.

"Falco what in the _world_ was _that_!" Krystal said as Falco parked his Arwing outside of the Center.

"Well that's gratitude for you. I take out the _whole_ mob of sentry models comin' after you, and you ask what that noise was."

Krystal laughed. "Thanks, Falco. I owe you for that."

"It's no problem."

"Hey, Falco. Good to see you drop in unannounced." Fox said as he walked in the entrance of the Center with blaster in hand."

"I always like to make an entrance."

"Fox you're OK." Krystal said as she smiled and ran over to Fox and embraced him. Fox kissed her.

"Good to see you're OK as well." He said.

"So...we've got the Climate beam online, but where's Pigma? That filthy little bast--" Falco began to say until he noticed a dark purple-blue beam come from the sky and fall on an engineering section of the CCC.

"What the hell was that!" Falco said, walking back to his Arwing and taking out his blaster.

"I...I don't know. I'm picking up a..."

"What is it, Krystal?" Fox asked.

"I'm picking up a thought pattern from that engineering section...the same one that the beam hit."

"Not good." Falco said as he ran this time back to his Arwing, threw his blaster on the floorboard, and switched engine power on as the section of engineering freed itself from the ground, and with two slender, powerful legs, began making it's way to the Center.

"Krystal. Take my Arwing." Fox said and threw her his blaster.

"Well...Fox. What're you goin' to do then?" Krystal asked.

Fox signaled to Falco to wait, and ran to his Arwing and opened up the compartment behind the cockpit.

"Trust me. I'll be ok." He said as he pulled out a shoulder-mounted plasma cannon. Fox picked it up by the carrying handle and walked over to Falco's arwing, and hopped up on the left wing.

"So, Fox. You want to go wing riding, do you?" Falco asked. Fox nodded and shouldered the plasma cannon.

"Falco, hit the switch." Fox said.

Falco flipped open a glass cover over a switch near the HUD and pressed the red button. That switch created a magnetic field, allowing Fox to turn and fire the cannon at any angle, while keeping him from falling off the wing, to his death.

"Ok, Falco it's working. Punch it."

Falco started the engine and brought up the throttle as he pointed the nose of the Arwing up and ascended into the dark Fichina sky.

Fox steadied the plasma cannon, switched it's firing switch to full auto and fired at everything in the sky that moved, save for Krystal's arwing. Fichina's sky was filled with hundreds of the enemy, and they were gunning for Falco and Krystal. Fox glanced up and saw a flash of red light, like a shooting star streaking through the sky. The light swelled larger, and went straight into the center of the airborne enemies and exploded brilliantly, vaporizing countless numbers of them around the vicinity on contact.

"What the hell was that?" Falco asked as he looked around in all directions inside his cockpit.

"Hey, guys! Don't take _all_ the fun from me for once." came Slippy's voice over the comm.

"Slip-up, take a good look around. I think there's plenty to go around." Krystal said.

Slippy opened fire with his hyper lasers, vaping aparoids left and right, as Fox continued to do the same with his cannon. Fox was pumping round after round into every aparoid that came into his field of view. He made sure that he didn't miss a single shot. Fox fired, not to save the Center, or even Fichina for that matter, but to keep Krystal, and everyone else, alive to fight another day. He didn't care about the Center now. The only thing he was firing for was his friend's lives. He had completely forgotten about the Climate Control Center.

Falco opened fire with his lasers as well as he began to pick up speed, still careful not to bank the Arwing too far to either direction, but soon after he began firing, a warning light flickered on and off inside the cockpit.

"Fox! Hit the ground! They're lockin' on to me." Fox glanced at his wrist radar and found a blinking red dot on radar. He whirled around to it's direction and moved the cannon out of his line of view to get a clear of sight, and saw it. A conical structure, about the size of the Landmaster, drawing in energy from all around it. Yellow beams of light began forming around it's center, then they were drawn into it. "_How in the world..._" Fox thought as he raised the cannon and began firing directly into it. The cone began to swivel towards Falco's Arwing.

"Come on, Fox! Hit it!" Falco yelled.

"I am!" Fox yelled back into his comm as he kept painting the ground target with laser fire. Just as it began to level in on the Arwing, Krystal flew by in her own and blasted it with her lasers, destroying the target, engulfing it in a ball of flames.

"_Good shot, Krys. I owe you one._" Fox thought.

"_Anytime, Fox, you know I love you. You don't owe me anything._" Krystal thought back. Fox smiled as he turned back around and aimed the cannon to take down whatever else he could.

"Fox! Target on my six!" Falco yelled.

Fox whirled around to see a wave of missiles headed straight for him. He squeezed the trigger, picking off the missiles one by one. When Fox finally destroyed the last one, it was no more than twenty feet away from the engine of the Arwing. Fox felt the heat of that last explosion, and he shielded his eyes from the flames.

"Falco keep a good eye on your radar. I need you to be my eyes here. It _is_ a little hard to use the wrist radar out here."

"10-4, Fox. I've gotcha covered."

"Slippy, Krystal. I need you guys to take care of that piece of engineering. Falco and I will cover you." Slippy and Krystal did a barrel roll, both to signify that they got Fox's orders, and to shake some enemy fire. Fox squeezed the trigger, and aparoid after aparoid careened to the snowy surface of Fichina as the blue laser blasts continued to find their marks.

"Fox! Ground target at 8:00. 20 meters away."

Fox whirled around and painted another of the yellow conical structures as it focused in it's deadly energy. Fox carefully reached into his vest pocket and exposed the only grenade he had.

"Fox, you know if you miss that target...you won't be wing riding anymore."

"Don't remind me." Fox said as he pressed the 'arm' button. He looked at the ground target, and it began swiveling towards the Arwing. Fox took the grenade in his left hand and threw it high into the air, in the direction of the target. It fell towards Fichina, and the white light emitting from the grenade grew as it fell.

"_Come on..._" Fox mumbled as he reshouldered the plasma cannon. The grenade exploded, and Fox let out a whoop as Falco let out a huge sigh of relief as the warning lights went off inside the cockpit.

"How's it coming with that chunk of engineering, guys?" Fox yelled into his wrist comm.

"Not so good. We've isolated a weak point, but the lasers aren't doing any good. And, when it exposes the weak spot, it fires a powerful beam at us." Krystal said.

"Use the novas. That should work." Fox said as he fired another shot into the sky, vaping another airborne aparoid.

"Fox we don't have any no-"

"Fox! Let me handle the engineering!" Said a new voice over the comm.

Fox looked up and saw a green light streak through the sky, and towards the huge chunk of engineering, cylindrical in shape, and balancing on two slender legs. Fox raised an eyebrow and smiled. A small, older model Cornerian fighter, with some slight modifications it's owner had installed on it, streaked through the sky of Fichina at blinding speed. The gray husky inside the cockpit gritted his teeth and squinted his eyes under his shades as he let a nova bomb fly towards the target, damaging it badly.

"Bill! Holy...I...I can't believe it." Fox said.

"Long time no see eh, Fox?" Bill said over the comm.

"Yeah, and almost too long at that." Fox said as he fired into the sky.

"Fox, you and Falco cover us with the cannon. Me, Slippy, and Peppy will take care of the engin--"

"Peppy?" Krystal said.

"Oh...sorry. What's your name, then?" Bill asked sarcastically.

"Krystal."

"Oh..." Bill said with that '_Fox got a girlfriend..._" Tone in his voice.

Fox didn't say anything, but rolled his eyes at his old friend's remark and fired into the coming onslaught of more aparoids as the infected engineering section opened up it's mouth-like hatch and released more into the air.

Bill dodged left and right, desperately trying to get his crosshairs centered on the opening of the hatch.

"Fox! Cover me while I lock on to the hatch."

"Gotcha. Falco, bring the Arwing around. Take us to where Bill is."

"Ok. Just keep me covered, Fox. You know, with you on the wing, I can't maneuver hardly at all."

"I know. Trust me, Falco."

Fox fired just ahead of Bill's 'Grey 1' ship, blasting the aparoids that blocked his line of sights as Bill continued to maneuver to get a lock.

"It's open! Hit it now!" Fox yelled as he continued firing at the chunk of engineering. Bill took a deep breath as his thumb settled over the bomb launcher, and he pressed the button. The bomb went straight for the target, but impacted another airborne aparoid before it reached the core.

"Damn!" Bill said in frustration as he pounded his HUD with his fist.

"Fox you've got to hit all of 'em. I've only got one more nova left." Bill said as he threw his 'Grey 1' into a kick spin, hurtling it away from the menacing engineering section as he fell back for another attack run.

"All right. Ready, Fox?" Bill asked as he turned his ship around to face the enemy.

"Go for it."

Bill punched the gas, and Fox squeezed the trigger on his cannon, moving it in a sweeping motion, taking out countless numbers of aparoids as bill came closer to the leviathan aparoid enemy. Fox moved his aim closer to the engineering as it opened it's hatch, and blasted hundreds of aparoids as it opened up the hatch.

"NOW!" Fox yelled.

Bill hit the launcher and closed his eyes as the nova bomb hurtled towards the open hatch. Fox held his breath as he watched the bright red light streak through the sky. There was a mighty explosion, and Bill opened his eyes.

Fox and everyone else cheered as the once gigantic fragment of mechanics was enveloped in a colossal explosion and the remaining, much smaller, aparoids began to retreat away from Fichina. Fox opened fire with his cannon, and the rest of the team with their lasers, completely obliterating the retreating aparoid forces.

"Fox, I just scanned those bots that attacked Krystal. Turns out that they were all aparoids." Slippy said over the comm.

"What! But...how?" Fox said.

"Well, aparoids, I guess they can just manipulate machines, and for that matter, those without strong wills to fight against them." 

"_Those without a strong will..._" Fox thought.

"What's wrong, Fox?" Krystal asked.

Fox shook his head as Falco landed the Arwing near the Climate Control Center.

"Nothing...it...it just sounds like somebody I know, that's all." Fox said as he sat down on the wing, looking at the stars before Bill's voice interrupted him.

"What's up, McCloud?" Bill asked as Fox jumped down off of Falco's wing and patted his old friend on the back. 

"Well, you know me, Bill. Wherever I go, something always blows up." Fox said with a smirk. Bill nodded.

"So...Foxie's got a _girl_?" Bill said sarcastically. Fox nodded and smiled slightly.

"What's her name?" Bill implied with a grin as he took off his flight helmet and held it under his arm.

"Krystal. She's a Cerinian."

"Oh wow. How'd you two meet?"

"Bill, it's one _hell_ of a long story. If you've got some time, I can explain it to you on the Great Fox if you wish to come. I'm sure the rest of the guys, and the girl, wouldn't mind seein' you." Fox said with a smile. Bill nodded.

"All right, then. Just follow my Arwing in the hangar, and we've got an extra space in there for you." Fox said. Bill grinned and stuck his OD green flight helmet back on and walked back to his ship.

Fox ran over to his Arwing, some twenty meters away, jumped in, and hit the startup. He pointed the nose up and punched the throttle, and the Great Fox loomed larger by the minute as Fox accelerated towards it at near blinding speed, with Bill on his right wing.


	6. Chapter 6: Friendly fire

CHAPTER 6

Fox relaxed at the controls of his Arwing as Bill slid the Grey 1 into the Great Fox hangar, to the space furthest to the right. Fox followed him in, shut down his ship and opened the canopy. He took in a big gulp of air as he jumped down off the wing and walked over to Bill's ship.

"Still holdin' up pretty good, Bill?"

"Yep. As good as ever, Fox."

"It's really good to see you again, man." Fox said and gave his old friend a hug.

"You too, Fox. Seems like you guys were lucky I came along."

"Yeah, we were. I bet you could see that dogfight from a million meters away."

Bill nodded.

"I owe you." Fox said. Bill shook his head.

"You don't owe me anything. Besides, what kind of friend would I be if I charged for my services?"

Fox shrugged his shoulders. "Hey Bill. I want you to meet someone. Come here."

"Sure." Bill said as he followed Fox to Krystal's Arwing. Krystal was already walking over to Fox to greet him. Fox gave her a hug and spun her around a few times as he swept her off her feet. Krystal giggled as Fox let her go and she turned her to face Bill.

"Bill Grey, Krystal. Krystal, my bud Bill." Fox said as he placed an arm around Krystal's shoulder.

Bill felt his jaw drop slightly, but quickly shut it as his eyes met Krystal's. He took off his shades and Krystal offered him a gentle smile.

"So _you're_ Bill Grey. Fox's old friend from flight school." Krystal said as she offered her hand to him.

"Y-yeah…umm…t-that's me." Bill stammered as rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand and held out his right hand and shook Krystal's.

Fox began to hang his head in quiet laughter at Bill's shyness.

"_Dang, he's as bad as I was when I first met her."_ He thought. Krystal laughed as she heard Fox's thought and let go of Bill's hand.

"It's great to meet you, Bill. Fox told me all about the Venomian war and he spoke about you a lot. Not as much as his dad, I'm afraid. You seemed to be quite a hero in that war." She said.

Fox grinned. He could see Bill blushing under his fur now.

"Well, nobody's per-"Bill began.

"Hey, Fox! I think I know what made that section of engineering to go haywire on Fichina." Slippy interrupted, nearly scaring Fox out of his skin. Fox narrowed his eyes and made a loose fist in frustration, but smiled as he took his arm from around Krystal's shoulder and turned around to face Slippy.

"Very good, Slippy, but please tell me before you scare me senseless, OK?"

Slippy grinned a little bit out of embarrassment.

"Sorry, Fox. I just got excited."

"It's okay, Slip-up. Let's see the stuff." Fox said.

"All right. Meet me in the science lab. I'll get the data online."

Fox nodded to Slippy and he turned on his heel and walked down the corridor.

Fox made a gesture with his hand to Bill meaning 'after you' as he put his arm back around Krystal's shoulder.

"Ladies first." Bill said. Fox grinned at Bill and he and Krystal walked down the corridor to the science lab, Krystal's head resting on Fox's shoulder as he rubbed her arm.

Fox walked in first and Bill's eyes widened slightly as he entered.

"Wow…things change in ten years."

"Yeah, they sure do." Fox said and rubbed his hand on Krystal's shoulder. Krystal patted his back a few times and rested her head on his shoulder.

The last time Bill Grey had set foot in that same lab was about ten years ago during the Venomian war after the Katina mission. Andross' prototype flying saucer nearly destroyed the base and killed everyone inside. The Great Fox was in it's first configuration, the way that James McCloud himself had built it, and the computers were much older. Ten years later and about a hundred million dollars worth of credits from Sauria had overhauled the ship, inside and out.

"Ok…so what I've done is, I managed to get a small amount of the energy signature from the beam of the corru-" Slippy began, but Fox held out his hand.

"Chill, Slip-up." Fox said with a kind smile. "No research paper required."

Slippy nodded and sat down at one of the several computer systems in the lab. He cut on the monitor, and wheeled his chair around to face Fox as it warmed up.

"We've got some more problems…" Slippy began.

Krystal sighed and Fox mentally prepared himself the best he could for whatever Slippy could say. "_How could we have more problems than we do now?_" Fox thought.

That beam…" Slippy said, but paused and shook his head as he looked towards the floor.

"Yeah. What about it, Slip?"

"Fox, that beam was not any type of standard laser we're used to seeing. The beam that was imposed upon the generator was aparoid matter, and it functioned along the lines of a computer virus; like a worm. Luckily the back-up generator kicked in. Anyway, these virii, though they were brought onto a machine, were organic and they are able to manipulate the non-organic machinery, by stimulating the components with their own energy. The micro-organisms within it had corrupted every function of that machinery it had brought itself on. These organisms are capable of infecting other machines, and re-arranging them to perform at the will of the virus. But...there has got to be some...place or being that the virii come from."

"Good God..." Bill said.

"These viruses...they've got to be coming from something like...a hive, or something along those lines." Krystal began.

"Slip, wait. If these viruses are organic, then, theoretically, couldn't they infect living matter as well, say, pilots inside of corrupted vessels?"

Slippy nodded. "Yes, actually. Since they're organic, they are indeed able to infect other organic matter, most likely with the same effect. Target any enemy and destroy it."

Fox shook his head as Bill took a step back from the monitor, neither of them expecting something like this to develop.

"Oh hell…" Fox said. Slippy turned back around to face the monitor and typed in several key sequences on the keyboard and a computer graphic animation of the Climate Control Center appeared on the monitor. Slippy took the mouse and zoomed in on the section of engineering that Fox and Bill had already demolished no more than half an hour ago.

"Look at this." Slippy said and panned down below Fichina's surface.

The two 'legs' it had walked on were actually part of the main generator assembly. They spun in a tube, generating electricity, which in turn, gave the Center power. Fox raised an eyebrow at the CG as it demonstrated the generator's normal function.

"So this is all it did. Create electricity for the center?"

Slippy nodded. "That was its original purpose, until the virii got fused into its mainframe system."

"Damn…if the particles could mess up a generator that bad, I'd hate to see what it could to something bigger." Bill said, for once, in a serious tone.

Fox and Krystal nodded.

"We've tracked Pigma's ship to the Asteroid belt around Corneria. We should be there in about half an hour from here on full warp. But…we lost his contact, I'm afraid." Slippy said.

"I thought we could keep a ship on radar all throughout the field…we got past the interference of the meteors."

"That's the problem. Pigma disappeared on radar when he got just inside the field. Some kind of interference, but it wasn't from the meteors. I can't tell what it is, though."

"Wait a minute…isn't there a base that Corneria is constructing?" Fox asked as he took his arm from around Krystal and typed on the monitor.

"Yes…which is exactly why we've got to go in after him and make sure that outpost is still secure." Slippy said.

Memories flashed through Fox McCloud's mind of what had happened in that same asteroid field, the skirmish that ensued during the Venomian war, the corruption of the Krazoas and his recent dream he had about it.

"There's way too much uncertainty." Fox said nervously and took a deep breath as he stepped back from the monitor and looked at the team that was with him in the lab: Bill, Slippy, and Krystal. Just as Fox opened his mouth to speak, Falco and Peppy walked in.

"Hey, guys. Anything on what that beam was?" Falco asked. Slippy explained in to him and Peppy and when he finished, Peppy was pondering what that 'interference' could be while Falco clenched his hands into fists and mumbled something about filet miñon under his breath. Fox took a step back and addressed the team.

"There are a lot of things that fall into place with this new discovery here. These things can affect _any _ machine, meaning that we could…we could be firing on friendlies from here on in." Fox took a deep breath, then continued,

"I know that this may make you question my judgment in this situation, but if you see any ship registering on the HUD radar as hostile, Cornerian or not, you have to open fire on it before it can get a shot off at you. There's no other way around it. Keeping them alive would be aiding the enemy. We can't let them spread into the system anymore, even if it means firing on our own ships."

Everybody nodded as Fox took a deep breath and looked at the ground for a few seconds, having to take in what he just told the rest of the team. He lifted his head up slightly and took a deep breath.

"It's gonna be a hell of a lot tougher from here on in, especially for me. I haven't got the slightest clue how long this whole crisis will last, but if it has escalated to something like this in a matter of hours then who knows what could happen next. It could really hit home hard for us, but we've got to get through this."

Peppy cleared his throat loudly and everyone turned towards him.

"There's one thing though, my friend." He said. "When have _I_ or _anyone_ for that matter question you, of James's judgment." He said with a kind grin. Fox shrugged his shoulders.

"So why the hell should we start now. We know you'll get us through this." Falco said.

"Amen." Bill said and grinned.

"There's no reason to." Krystal said as she placed an arm around Fox's waist.

Fox smiled. "I'm glad I've got your support on this. Now, I believe we need something to eat. I'm sure we're all starved. I'm buying." Fox said sarcastically. The food in the Great Fox's dining lounge was free.

"Oooh…big spender." Krystal said. Fox grinned. "Shall we?" He asked her. "Lead the way, Foxie." She said with a grin.

"Foxie. That's hilarious." Bill said. Fox raised the arm that wasn't around Krystal's waist and gave Bill the bird. Falco covered his beak with his right arm, attempting to contain his laughter.

"Ouch…" Bill said. Fox laughed.

"Just kiddin', man." He said.

"It's all good."

Fox walked into the dining hall, took his arm from around Krystal's waist and pulled out her chair. Krystal grinned and sat down as Fox pushed her chair in slightly and walked to the counter and started up the replicators.

"Whaddya you guys want?" He asked.

"Nothin' much. Whatcha got?" Bill asked.

"You name it, we've got it." Falco said.

"Hmm…I dunno…I'll take some fries. I'm not that hungry." Bill said.

"Salad, here." Krystal said.

"I'm good." Slippy said.

"Nothin' Here, Foxie." Falco said and laughed.

"_Yeah…I'd poison your food if I ever gave any to you._" Fox thought. Krystal turned and looked at him with wide eyes, but a kind smile on her face.

"_Kidding, Krys. Kidding_" He thought and gave her a warm smile. Krystal rolled her eyes and turned back to face the table.

"So…how'd you and old McCloud meet?" Bill asked. Fox grinned. "_He's in for it now…_" He thought.

Krystal didn't look at him, but grinned. Fox laughed. "Well…it's a long story…" She began as Bill rested his head in his hands, propped up on the table.

Fox picked up the three plates, one of them with a cheeseburger on it, for him, and carefully walked over to the table, one of them balancing on his arm. He sat the plates down on the table and sat down himself. Fox picked up a mustard packet and ripped it open with his teeth, considering they were impossible to open with his hands.

Fox glanced at his watch. There were still about twenty minutes left until he had to jump in the cockpit of his Arwing once more, headed to battle. Fox couldn't believe it. He was about to be firing on friendly ships soon, perhaps some people he may have met before. Fox shook his head to clear his mind as he picked up his burger and took a bite.

"_Pretty good for a replicator…_" He thought. Fox ate about half of it and set it back down on the plate.

"Well, guys I think I'm full for now. We don't have much time left before we hit the asteroid belt, and I've gotta head to my quarters. There's a few things I need to do before we hit the battlefield again." He said.

Bill and Falco nodded. "See you in the hangar, Fox." Krystal said. Fox smiled and walked out of the dining hall to his quarters.

He walked into the dark room and sat down on the foot of his bed and buried his face in his hands, thoughts racing through his mind.

"_There's got to be at least fifty Cornerian fighters stationed at that outpost…and at least double that of technicians still constructing the base…"_

Fox moved his head slightly downward and let his hands move over the top of his head, over his ears and down to his neck. He breathed a sigh of relief as he came to terms with what he has to do. "_We can't let them spread anymore…_" He recalled in his mind.

There was one major thing that Fox couldn't block out of his mind. He had a really bad gut instinct about this mission. Something was out there and it really struck a nerve. Fox recalled his father's voice in his head.

"_Never give up…trust your instincts._"

Fox always remembered his dad saying that, those nearly twelve years ago.

He heard the door slide open, and grinned as he saw Krystal enter the room and turn the light on, dimly.

"Hey, Foxie." She said as she sat down beside him on the foot of the bed.

"Hey, Krys. It's a good thing you can read my thoughts. You're always here to talk to when I need you most."

"There are a lot of strange thought patterns, and a big life-force out there but nothing you can't handle." She said with a warm smile. Fox shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess…I don't know though."

"Fox, you don't have anything to be afraid of, I know that much. You saved _all_ of Sauria a couple of years ago, and that was the _biggest _life-force that I or anyone else could've encountered. Who else could do something like that?"

Fox grinned. "I don't know." He said.

Krystal smiled. "I want to give you something." She said as she held out her hand. Fox raised an eyebrow as he held his hand under hers and she dropped a small silver ring on his palm.

"What's this?" He asked, puzzled.

"Well, it's hard to explain, but to put it short, it allows us to communicate telepathically while we wear them. My parents gave them to me a couple of days before they died. I wondered why they said I'd need them. Now I guess I know." She said with a grin.

"Thanks, Krys." Fox said and embraced her. Krystal gave him a kiss and stood up with her arm held out to him.

"Come on. We've got some tail to kick, Foxie."

Fox smiled and grabbed her hand and held her by the waist.

"I love you so much." He said and kissed her.

"You too, Fox. You'll be ok out there. I know it."

Fox and Krystal walked to the hangar, hand in hand. Bill was standing on the left wing of his fighter, his flight helmet under his arm, while Falco had just closed the canopy and began the startup sequence.

Bill smiled kindly when he turned to meet them. Fox was surprised. Normally Bill would raise and eyebrow and make a smart remark.

"Yo Fox. Ready for this missi- Hey. What are the rings for?"

"No, Bill. They're not...nevermind. To put it short, Krys and I can communicate telepathically now." Fox said. Bill raised an eyebrow and nodded his head with a grin.

"Fox! I just got a message from my dad!" Slippy's voice came in from the ship's intercom. "This core memory we've got to obtain may contain the information we need to find the Aparoid homeworld.

"Wow." Bill said over the comm..

"Yeah…we've got to seize it from Pigma at_ almost_ any cost."

"Almost?" Falco asked.

"Yeah. By almost, I mean, don't try to kill yourself to get it. Nobody needs to play the hero out there, people."

A chorus of 'copy's came over the comm as each member began to start up their Arwings and get the engines running. A series of three beeps sounded and a green light blinked on the HUD signifying the lift locks being released from the wings of the Arwing. When the green light stopped blinking and stayed on, Fox punched the throttle and grinned as his head was pushed back against the cushioned headrest of his seat. The team followed him out and formed a row, with Falco on his right and Krystal on his left.

The Cornerian asteroid field began to form into view. So far, the StarFox team's scopes were clear; only blue dots signifying asteroids appeared.

"Ok team. When we hit the asteroids, stick close to my wing as best you can. It's going to be some tough turns in this field. Just follow my lead."

A chorus of 'copy's echoed once again aver the comm. As Fox gritted his teeth and pulled the controls hard left to dodge the first of many asteroids heading his way.

Falco Lombardi raised an eyebrow at his own radar as he pulled right around an asteroid and saw the blinking, yellow dots.

"Hey Guys. What do you all make of this? Three blinking dots, registering hostile, but they're not moving towards us."

"I see those. Maybe they're old probes of some sort." Fox said.

"No way. They're too big." Slippy said over the comm.

"Wait…I can see them. They're the wolfens. I'm sensing faint brain patterns from them. They abandoned ship." Krystal said.

Fox banked around another chunk of rock millions of times the size of his ship and looked out of his canopy to the left and saw them, several kilometers away.

"Something to cause even Wolf O'Donnell himself to abandon ship…something's got to be pretty tough to do that." Fox said.

"Radar's picking up contacts, and they're moving in fast." Slippy said. Fox looked at his radar and saw about fifty various sizes of red blinking dots moving straight for him.

"All right team, keep your guard up. Don't try to pick your targets for this one. Cornerian or not, you've got to fire."

The team didn't answer, but instead performed evasive maneuvers and began firing into the onslaught of enemy ships.

"Damn! Pigma must have something planned back here, with all these things flying around." Falco said.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Slippy said back.

Fox flipped open a switch on the control stick and pressed a red switch twice. Two nova bombs flew from the nose of the ship and exploded in the middle of the armada, destroying most of them while the surviving ships spun out of control into others and exploded.

"Notify me if a Cornerian ship is shot down." Fox said.

A chorus of 'copy's came over the comm as Fox opened fire with his lasers into the continuing onslaught.

"Keep pressing through." He said, mainly to himself.

"Hey that's a weird looking meteorite…and…holy crap! It's coming straight for us!" Slippy said.

"Wha- oh crap!" Fox said as he saw them. Meteorites with silver rings with a red energy flowing around them, once defense mechanisms for the Cornerian base, were now obviously infected by the aparoids somehow. Fox banked and rolled as hard as he could to dodge them.

"These things are coming at us more furiously than before. Watch it, Slip-up." He said into the comm.

"Fox! I can't dodge them! I can't—" Slippy began to say.

Fox looked at Slippy's Arwing, with a chunk of meteorite heading towards it. Fox blasted it, but the debris and the shock from the laser shot knocked Slippy's Arwing around violently for a minute, then it floated; dead in space. 

Slippy? SLIPPY!" Fox yelled into the comm, but he gave no response.

Fox glanced over to Slippy and saw his Arwing floating near the edge of the asteroid field.

"_Oh damn…_" Fox thought.

"Keep firing, team! Slip-up's in some deep crap! His Arwing's system's are down. Take out the meteorites and keep Slippy's Arwing covered.

"Fox? Fox! Oh crap." Slippy said as he shook his head to clear his mind. He tapped the start-up switch, overrode the power and guidance systems, and rerouted power. Nothing happened. Slippy tried everything he knew how…nothing worked. He glanced at his oxygen gauge; it read 10 minutes of air left.

Slippy paused for a second, trying to calm himself and think of something to do. Slippy took a deep breath as he figured out that there was only one thing he could do to save himself, and he wasn't sure if he had time left.

He unbuckled his safety harness and floated from his seat in the 0g of space and opened a compartment under the HUD and pulled out a screwdriver.

He turned around inside the cockpit and proceeded to unscrew the chair from its assembly. Slippy wiped some sweat from his head and his eyes and turned each screw until the chair broke free.

"Come on, Slip. Hurry up." Fox said to himself as he helplessly looked at Slippy's lifeless Arwing as he continued to destroy meteorite after meteorite spinning at great speed towards his, and the team's ships.

Slippy unscrewed the seat and moved it as close to the HUD as he could without destroying it and tried to get himself back into the power wires that kept his Arwing running. Some of the wires were sparking, and most of them were a smoldering black from the blast.

Slippy reached back into the compartment under the HUD and pulled out a roll of electrical tape, and moved the seat back to the HUD so he could access the power wires again. Slippy pulled out a small flashlight out of his pocket and flicked it on. Everything back there was a smoldering wreck.

He turned his head and looked back at the oxygen gauge. One minute left. "_Dammit._" He thought. Slippy wiggled a few of the wires and tapped them into place, rather painfully due to the electric current still flowing slightly for backup power, and some lights in the cockpit went on.

"Yes!" Slippy said. He looked at his hands; they were bleeding pretty badly. Slippy put some tape on his hands and he moved back the seat and reattached it back to the assembly and tightened the screws.

"Fox, can you hear me?" Slippy asked into the comm as he warmed the engine back up and brought the oxygen systems and radar back online.

"Yes! Thank God. Slip, that was awesome!" Fox asked over the comm.

"All right, Slip! I knew you could do it." Bill said as he fired on another infected asteroid flying towards him.

"Hold on, Guys. I'll get back to you. Cover me, Fox. I still don't have power." Slippy said as he sat down in the chair, buckled himself in, and flipped down a rectangular door to the left of the HUD and console.

"No problem, Slip-up. Just don't take your time in there."

Slippy said as he narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better look at the fried guidance and control chips. Slippy tapped a few of them with his hand, and they sparked. He took a deep breath and grabbed some of the guidance chips and pulled them out. He swore under his breath as the electric current agitated his fingers and singed his skin.

Slippy glanced at the numbers and letters written on the end farthest from the metal link-up that provided power, and re-inserted them in different slots. He looked at his radar console, and it sparked slightly and flared back to life. Slippy grinned as he turned back around and tore several power chips out of the same mainframe.

"Damn." He mumbled. The electric current was stronger than he had thought as he looked at the numbers and letters on these chips. Slippy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. If he inserted these chips in the wrong slots for power re-routing, then he would cause a power surge in the circuits resulting in the destruction of the ship. Slippy stuck the first of three chips into a slot. He looked at the HUD to find out that the oxygen system had come back online.

Slippy slowly re-inserted the second into another slot and squinted his eyes. When he opened one of his eyes and looked around, he was still in the cockpit. A light came on signifying that the laser cannons were back and up to full power.

He stuck the third chip in without hesitation and relaxed as he heard the engine flare back to life behind him.

"I'm back!" Slippy said and punched the throttle, accelerated into the field, and checked his shield and hull gauge. 'Sh. 56 Hu. 73' it read.

"Well that was kind of a thrill, I guess…" Slippy said. Fox grinned.

"Sure…but try roller coasters next time, man." Falco said. Krystal and Bill laughed over the comm.

"Gotcha." Slippy said and demolished several of the corrupted asteroids spinning towards him. Fox glanced around outside his canopy, and didn't see any more of them.

Squadrons of aparoid fighters came at Fox, causing his instinct to kick in and squeeze the nova launcher. One of them detonated so close to his own Arwing that the hull integrity went from 80 to 69.

"Dang, Fox. Chill with the novas." Bill said over the comm.

"Sorry."

Squadrons of three appeared, then seven of dark blue aparoids that had a silhouette of a dragonfly, raining dark-purple and green lasers down on Fox. The same kind of lasers from the Katina mission. Fox held his breath and squinted his teeth as he blasted them into nonexistence.

"Ahhh! Fox!" Krystal yelled over the comm, scaring Fox nearly out of his mind.

"K-krystal!" He said as he glanced at his radar and found her Arwing.

"I've got a few on me. I…I can't shake them. They're unbelievable." She said as she flew past his nose and Fox let loose a nova, just as she passed him, obliterating the mob of ten enemies on her Arwing.

"Nice goin' Fox. You're pretty good in tight spots." She said over the comm.

"I try, Krys. How's your ship holding up?"

"Shields are at eighty and hull is at seventy-five. I'll be fine."

"Good. If you made it through this much already, you should have no trouble." Fox said.

"Aww crap. I've taken a lot of damage." Falco said.

"Same here. I'm down to fifty percent." Bill said.

Just as Fox was about to give the command over the comm for Bill to pull back to the Great Fox, they stopped coming. Fox stopped the throttle in a clear spot in the field and breathed a sigh of relief as he wiped a substantial amount of sweat that had collected during the firefight.

"I think that's the last of 'em, guys." Fox said as he relaxed at the controls, still keeping his guard up.

"I hope so." Bill said.

"Fox…there's something past those asteroids bearing about two-seven-three." Krystal said.

"Are you guys up for a little more dog fighting?"

A chorus of copy's came over the comm and Fox punched the throttle towards the leviathan light-gray asteroids in front of him.

"Watch it, Fox. If you try to jet through those rocks, you'll get killed. Utilize your brakes." Peppy said over the comm.

"Always there with advice. What would we do without you, Peppy?" Fox asked.

"Good question." Peppy said sarcastically. Fox grinned. Peppy may have thought he was joking, but Fox was actually quite serious. His old friend Peppy Hare was well into his late 60's, but his mind still ran 'like a Swiss watch.'

Fox brought the throttle on his ship to 75, as did the rest of the team as they made a '/\' formation, with Fox's Arwing at the tip. Krystal and Falco were on Fox's port side, and Bill and Slippy on his starboard.

"Well here's our base, but…" Krystal said.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Fox asked.

"It's…it's not under our control anymore. Pigma was planning ahead. He's already infected this whole place with the DNA."

The base was gigantic, but it was horribly deadly. Large places of red and blue matter, composed of Aparoid substances foreign to Cornerian databases, littered the exterior of the base.

Fox narrowed his eyes as his adrenaline began circulating inside him upon entering the vicinity. The Arwings were dwarfed just at the size of the maintenance door and the great wall in front of them. It could've easily harbored a ship nearly double the size of the Great Fox. Fox looked up and could barely make out the top of the side of the base, but so far, he could only see this one side of it.

"Bandits! 12:00 high!" Fox said as many aparoids emerged from within it.

Fox jammed the control stick all the way back, having his Arwing fly parallel to the top side of the base as he gunned down aparoid after aparoid intercepting him.

The nose of Fox's Arwing came even with the hoard of even much more Aparoid enemies and without hesitation he let loose three novas into the center, obliterating them into nonexistence.

Each member fired at anything that moved. There wasn't even time to pick targets in this hell storm. Nobody was even aiming at one single Aparoid. They were just sweeping their lasers in all directions.

"Fox! The base…it just launched a whole volley of fighters." Krystal said over the comm.

"What do they register?"

"They're hostile on scopes, but they register as Cornerian."

Fox pounded the instrument console with his left fist and took several deep breaths as he glared at the fighters. They had the same nose and cockpit as the Arwing, but instead of the wings going out horizontally, the wings went up vertically, making them lighter, and slightly faster.

Yet considering their corruption and the substances on their outer hulls, there was no telling as to their capabilities because their pilots were not in control, if not dead, and they were under complete Aparoid control.

"Return their fire!" He said with great reluctance.

A chorus of 'copy's echoed over the comm.

Almost immediately after their deployment, Fox got a fighter on his tail, spitting dark green lasers at him. He banked and swerved, desperately trying to avoid its lasers and get the fighter off his tail. After many unsuccessful attempts, something clicked in Fox's brain.

Fox killed the throttle, and pressed a button that said 'fuel dump' two times as fast as he could in the cockpit. He punched the engine until the gauge read 105, igniting the fuel and destroying the fighter. Almost immediately after he pulled that stunt, the whole team chimed in.

"What was that!"

"Oh…just something I thought of, I guess." Fox said as he reluctantly gunned down five fighters flying right towards him. He glanced around, looking for the other Arwings outside of his canopy. Things, to his surprise, were looking up. Krystal was pumping round after round into the onslaught and Falco seemed to be accustomed to the novas.

Slippy, despite his almost fatal malfunction earlier, was handling quite well. He was shooting _at_ the enemy for once, not the other way around. Fox grinned at Bill's erratic maneuvers in his ship, destroying one ship after another.

Despite these good odds, Fox couldn't help that in this whole gigantic hellish swarm of enemy ships, many of them were of Cornerian origin. Fox rubbed a tear out of his left eye as he realized the pilots in the ships couldn't even respond to transmissions, let alone keep their own craft from firing.

Nonetheless, Fox had his orders from General Pepper, and that was to defend the whole system, not an outpost, at any cost, other than a loss in the team.

"There's a place we can get inside. It's a runway. Follow me." Fox said and punched the throttle to full as he let loose three novas, obliterating the infected Cornerian fighters and clearing a path for the team to follow him in.

Fox banked in all directions, firing lasers the whole time as he continued down the runway, until he saw the doors ahead of him close. He gritted his teeth and shot his last several remaining novas at the door to destroy it. It didn't budge, but it did wipe out all of the aparoids within the area.

"Go left, Fox!" Peppy said over the comm. Fox glanced over and saw a small service tunnel. He banked and flew within it.

"Lower throttle to 50." Fox said as he blew up several hatchers attached to the tunnel walls.

"It's going to get really tight in here soon." Fox said as he destroyed several infected Cornerian fighters flying to intercept him. He carefully dodged the lasers and took in what he has already done, and for what he and the team had to do.

He and the team had already destroyed at least twenty of their own fighters, and they were going to have to find some way to destroy this base, and everything inside it, or risk the security of an already weakened Lylat System, ravaged by previous wars, and still regaining its composure. There was no way that it would be able to withstand an attack, especially one to this large of a scale as the Aparoids.

Fox glanced at his radar and gritted his teeth as he made a sudden right turn down a larger and more brightly lit tunnel, made for servicing cruisers and battleships.

"Fox, what was that for!" Falco said over the comm.

"Sorry…that service way dead-ended a few meters ahead."

"Oh…_try_ not to do that again. 

Fox laughed weakly. "Sure. I'll try."

"Geez!" He said as he glanced up and saw a maintenance arm twenty times the size of his Arwing swing towards him. Fox bit his lip as he swerved and hit the brakes to dodge it, just as another was coming towards him from the other side of the service tunnel.

"Fox, I'm picking up a large enemy presence up ahead." Krystal said.

"Good. That's what I'm hoping for." Fox said as he settled his crosshairs on and fired, with great pain, on another Cornerian fighter.

"Watch it! It's getting tight in here." He said as he dodged the second arm and banked past a third maintenance arm and wasted as many aparoids walking on the ground as he could. 

"Wait…there's no way out!" Krystal said as she came on his wing and they got to the end of the runway and the blast door close in front of them.

"This way." Fox said as he dodged the last arm and dove down a tunnel just barely wide enough for the Arwing to fit through. It was filled with dark blue and black circular aparoid turrets and they were all facing towards him.

Right before any of them could read his radar signature and fire, Fox hit the lasers and pelted all of them, enveloping the tunnel and his Arwing in a blanket of yellow fire. Just as Fox begun to think he'd hit a dead end, the tunnel ended a few minutes after the turrets were destroyed and Fox was once again in open space, able to see the walls of the aft end of the base around the left side of his canopy.

"Hold it, Fox. Look." Krystal said. Fox hit the brakes, as did the rest of the team.

"Pigma's ship? But...how come it it's unscathed?"

"Fox! Behind you!" Falco said and Fox gritted his teeth, hit the gas, flew out a few hundred meters, and threw his Arwing into a kickspin back to face the outpost. He squinted his eyes at something in the center. Instead of being black and gray, it was green and light blue, and a light purple. Fox could make out something moving in the center.

"Looks we found Pigma" He said.

"Whoa…what the…" Fox said as the colored portion of the base spiked and flared up and covered Pigma, deep within the horrible aparoid mass inside.

"Well it looks like Pigma got too friendly with 'em." Falco said.

The six adjacent bay doors on the O shaped section of the outpost, that were made to harbor battleships, closed over the manipulated mass that was the infected Pigma Dengar. Fox looked at Pigma and instead of being a light pink, he could barely make out splotches of dark blue matter, boiling all over his skin.

It opened up, and Fox's eyes got wide as a purple and blue twisted mass of what looked like Pigma's head appeared.

"WOW!" Bill said.

"Do not resist. You have been warned." Pigma bellowed in a droning voice.

"Yeah…right. We're not buyin' that." Falco said over the comm to the base.

Fox opened comm frequencies to the base.

"What do you want with us?" He yelled, even though he expected no response.

"We are the ultimate existence, and you cannot resist. You must join us." It said.

"Hey, freak show! Don't you listen!" Falco yelled.

Pigma sneered and the doors closed once more as six mechanical arms were exposed from somewhere on the other side of the base.

"_Not good…_" Fox thought.

Three of the arms had six-barreled gatling gun style laser batteries on the end, while the other three had missile batteries latched to claws underneath them.

"Hit the arms!" Fox yelled and pelted them with laser fire. The team acknowledged and a couple of the missile batteries and a laser battery were quickly destroyed.

"Nice job." Fox said but he winced as one of the claws formerly holding a missile battery, grabbed hold of his Arwing and ripped one of his wings off.

"Fox!" Krystal yelled.

"I'm fine. Just…oh CRAP! SCATTER!"

"Meteors coming this way." Falco said as the arms picked up passing asteroids with their claws and began hurtling them towards the Arwings at blinding speed. Fox and the team were having a hell of a time dodging them. Fox was banking so hard that he became slightly disoriented from the constant barrel rolling.

"Wow…I'm dizzy from that. That doesn't happen to me often." Bill said.

"So infection leads to something like this? A menace of this size?" Krystal said over the comm as she began opening fire on the claws throwing meteors at them.

Fox did the same and Falco, Bill, and Slippy began using the rest of their novas, completely obliterating them. Fox dodged the wreckage as Pigma laughed loudly, sending a chill down Fox's spine.

"Yes! All his arms are out." Slippy said.

"Great, Fox. He's almost out of commission." Peppy said over the comm.

"Fox, it's not over. I'm sensing a mighty force from him." Krystal said as the six bay doors opened wide, revealing Pigma's horrible twisted blue and purple face. Fox opened fire immediately and aimed right for his nose.

"Whoa! Watch it." Falco said as he did a loop to dodge a wave of ballistic missiles launched from the base. Fox gritted his teeth and pulled a somersault, still squeezing the trigger on the control stick as he brought the Arwing back level to Pigma. He was about to end it with a nova but the bay door closed and red and yellow fire energy began entering into the sides of the base.

"Detecting high energy buildup in center of enemy mass." ROB said over the comm.

"Move it! That energy reading is off the charts!" Peppy said.

"Scatter!" Fox yelled as the bay doors opened, and that red and yellow energy shot out of Pigma's gaping mouth and into the Field. Fox banked and rolled, desperately trying to dodge it as it followed him, as if attracted to his ship.

The beam stopped several minutes later, and Fox and the team let their last remaining novas fly directly into the center of the mass, right into Pigma's still open mouth. Pigma and the base began trembling, almost uncontrollably, as the remains of the base tore itself apart in a brilliant explosion. Fox cringed as Pigma let out one last scream and an unnaturally bright light shot out from his mass. The base fell silent, and all energy and function ceased within it. The base was completely neutralized, sitting dead in the dark of space.

Fox said nothing, but wiped several tears from his eye as he realized that there were _still _stranded Cornerians on that base, but they had just been consumed in the explosion.

Fox cleared his throat. "All right…umm…that was one hell of a firefight. We need a break after this." He said, his voice breaking up slightly.

"Fox. You all right, man?" Bill asked kindly.

"Yeah I'm fine, Thanks Bill. It's just that…there were still friendlies on that base."

"Fox, there was nothing you could do. Believe me." Peppy said.

"_Fox…are you all right?"_

"_Yeah, Krys. I'm fine…thanks for asking._" Fox thought, even that voice breaking up.

"_Anytime. You did what you had to do, Fox. I know this won't help, but there was no other way around it. You said it yourself._"

Fox sighed. "_Yeah…you're right._

"I need a vacation for a while…" Fox said over the comm. The rest of the team agreed.

"Let's head up to the ship. I need something to drink."

Fox slid his Arwing into the space and the team followed suit as he opened the canopy and climbed out onto the wing. Krystal jumped out of her canopy and walked over to his and waited for him to jump down. Fox gave her a kind smile.

"You gonna try and catch me?" He asked.

Krystal laughed. "If you want me to break my arms." She said.

"Oh I see how it is." Fox said and jumped from the wing down to the floor. He walked to Krystal, pulled her to him, and gave her a kiss that lasted a few seconds.

"I would've caught you." He said smugly, still holding Krystal by the waist. Krystal laughed.

"You would've dropped me if I would've jumped down." She said with a grin.

Fox grinned evilly at her and swept her off her feet into his arms. ,

"I'm not dropping you now, am I?" He said.

Krystal laughed and Fox gave her a quick kiss and walked down the corridor to the bridge, Krystal still in his arms and Bill, Falco, and Slippy trying to conceal their laughter, but failing miserably. Bill was laying on the wing of his ship, shades on the hangar floor, and his face buried in his arms with his body trembling with laughter.

"Fox, General Pepper is on the VAC in the bridge." Peppy said over the intercom.

"Be up in a sec." Fox said as he looked back at the team and swung his head towards the corridor, signifying them to follow him to the bridge. Fox carried Krystal all the way up to the bridge, and when he passed through the doors, he set her down and turned on the VAC.

"Excellent work, StarFox. I'm sorry to hear of the actions you had to take regarding the base." Pepper said with a smile.

"Thank you, General. So…we got this core memory and it should reveal the location of the homeworld, correct?" Fox asked.

Pepper nodded. "Indeed, the time to face the aparoid queen has come."

"Hmm…" Fox said as he rubbed his chin.

"This queen is the source of all aparoid will. As long as she exists, they will continue to multiply and threaten our existence." Pepper said.

Fox pondered what could happen when they intercepted the homeworld. They would be going into complete unknown for this one, billions of miles from Lylat.

Slippy rested his chin in his hand and shook his head slightly, nervousness setting in as he too began pondering what the unknown world could throw at them.

"All right, then. We're on our way to the planet to help analy-"

"Fox." Krystal interrupted.

Fox raised an eyebrow and his ears went back to full alert as the fur on his neck began to stand up.

"What is it…?" He asked as he turned towards her.

"I'm receiving a distress call from Sauria." She said as Fox walked over to her.

"Sauria? From Tricky?" Fox asked.

"I…don't know, but I heard cries of pain and agony from the planet." She said and put her hands over her heart.

Fox went over and pulled her into a tight hug. He could feel it beating against him as he stroked a hand through her hair and massaged her back with the other. It was racing terribly fast. She was scared of something…and she hardly ever gets scared of anything.

"General, we'll have to get back to you after this. Something else has come up, sir." Fox said as he rubbed Krystal's arm, trying to comfort her.

"Understood, Fox. Be careful out there, and do what you must to protect Sauria. We can't lose it. Pepper, out." He said and shut off his link of the VAC.

"Fox, we'll be in Sauria's orbit in a about eight hours from here on full warp. All of you get some rest. You're going to need it for this." Peppy said. Fox nodded, Krystal still in his arms.

"_Sometimes…I hate being telepathic._" Krystal thought.

"_But you've saved our lives so many times…_" Fox thought to her as he rubbed his hand through her cerulean hair and moved her head slightly to look up into his eyes. Fox smiled and gave her a quick kiss.

"_We'll be OK._" He thought.

"_I don't know…I can almost sense that someone is going…"_

"_Going to what, Krystal."_

"_I can almost foresee that one of us will be killed from this next task we've got to undertake._"

Fox glanced around quickly to see what was happening on the bridge. Peppy and Falco were talking quietly, and Slippy was sitting at a computer console looking up images of Sauria and its current status. Fox turned back to Krystal.

"_I won't let anything like that happen._" Fox thought.

"_I know you won't, but one person, even as strong as you, can control fate_."

Fox nodded slightly as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"_I know, but I can try._" He said and smiled to her. Krystal rolled her eyes up to look at him again and smiled back. Fox kissed her quickly on her cheek and addressed the team.

"Well guys, here's how it's going to work. Falco, Bill, and Slip-up will watch the skies and Krystal and I will take the ground near Moon Mountain Pass, considering we know the terrain. You two guys go ahead and head down to Sauria when we get there, and clear some of the skies as soon as you can. Krys and I will need the easiest landing possible." Fox said.

Falco and Slippy nodded and walked up to the raised area of the bridge.

"Watch yourself out there, Fox." Bill said as he followed.

"Yeah, you too, man." Fox said and patted his friend on the back.

"Slippy, before you guys hit the Arwings, I need you to get some photos of some of the dinosaurs if you can. I need to know how well they're combating the invasion, and if they've been infected or not." Fox said. Slippy nodded and turned around back to the computer console.

"Krystal and I are heading down to the Armory, guys. We'll be up in a minute." Fox said and he and Krystal walked off the bridge.

Fox took hold of Krystal's hand as they walked to the armory.

"We'll be ok, Krys. Try not to worry about this."

Krystal looked at him and smiled. "You're right, Fox. But…I can almost feel that something terrible is about to unfold down on the surface. She said as they came to the door.

"Krys, trust me. There's no way I'll let _anything _happen to any of us down there." Fox said and put his eye on the retinal scanner. Krystal said nothing, but nodded her head.

"Are you OK now?" He asked as he put his hands oh her shoulders and looked into her eyes. Krystal nodded and looked back into his with a smile. Fox rubbed a hand through her hair and Krystal did the same to Fox as the armory doors slid open. Fox let go of her and grinned.

"So…take your pick. If you could handle two assault rifles, then _none_ of these should be a problem for you."

Krystal laughed. "All right then. What do you recommend?"

"I dunno. Pick something, but you're going to need something heavier for this one. The aparoids' attacks have been getting more furious lately. I'm gonna get an assault rifle and several grenades. It's up to you what you carry, but stock up on ammo and _definitely _carry a sidearm for backup." Fox said as he picked up a scoped AR, inspected the chamber to check if it was empty, and slung it over his back. Krystal folded her arms as she looked the shelves up and down, deciding what to carry.

"What…what do you suppose one of the dinosaurs would do should they be infected?" Krystal asked as she picked up one of the gatling guns from a shelf and inspected it.

"They'd probably either die, or they would make an attempt at our lives. That DNA corrupts normal functions, judging by the whole generator incident earlier." Fox said grimly.

Krystal lowered her head slightly and shook it, clearly hurt by Fox's statement.

"Don't worry, Krys. We'll save 'em. We've already done it once before, and it's not like we can't do it again." Fox said as he reached and gently took Krystal's chin, raising her head up to look into his eyes. Krystal smiled and Fox kissed her on the cheek as he set his blaster down on one of the empty racks and threw his flight jacket over it.

"Come on. You need to get some rest before we head down there. It's been one rough day for all of us." Fox said as walked back over to Krystal and gave her a hug.

Krystal nodded as she set the rifle down on the rack and put an arm around Fox's shoulder and followed him out of the armory down the corridor that lead to their quarters.

Fox walked her to her room and pulled her into a tight hug, giving her a long kiss, as the door slid open. Krystal rubbed a hand through the fur on his forehead and pulled away, Fox's arms still around her waist.

"Good night, Foxie." She said with a grin.

"Sleep well." Fox said as he let her go and turned to walk down the hallway several doors down to his own quarters.

Krystal sat down on the right side of the bed and began to take off her jewelry as she began to ponder what it could be she was feeling that someone would not come out of this Sauria mission alive.

"_I'm just tired..._" She thought as she positioned herself under the sheets and fell asleep a few moments later, after turning off the light.

Fox ran a finger along the silver ring around his finger as he walked into his room and sat down on the foot of the bed. He buried his face in his hands, tears in his eyes, as he recollected the events that just unfolded in the meteor field.

Fox fell back onto the spring mattress and folded his arms behind his head as exhaustion began setting in, and a tired and weary Fox McCloud began to drift into a rather uneasy sleep.


	7. Chapter 7: Sauria

Author's note: I'M STILL ALIVE! Geez this one's long and I worked on it for a long time, obviously. Hope it's not too bad, and I hope to GOD you people enjoy it. PM me if there's something you don't like. POSITIVE criticism is always appreciated

CHAPTER 7

Fox's alarm jolted him awake at 9:10 a.m., just several minutes before the Great Fox was projected to arrive in Sauria's orbit. Fox sat up in bed and tilted his neck to either side of him, nearly losing his balance as he popped the tension out of the bones inside of it. Fox walked over to the closet and got dressed in his full battle outfit. Same features as his flight outfit, but it was slightly less comfortable, considering the plates of Kevlar inside of his jacket.

Running a hand through the fur on his head as he walked out the door of his quarters, it was a meager attempt to straighten it out as he headed for the bridge; but making several planned detours prior to his arrival. Fox made a quick turn down another hallway that lead away from the bridge, and down towards the aft end of the ship, into the armory. While walking down the hall, he fumbled through his pocket and exposed the ring Krystal had given him. Fox placed it around his finger and felt a surge of relief come over him.

After scanning his retina once again, the armored double doors slid open, and Fox, almost instinctively, walked over to the shelf with several GI Cornerian automatic rifles lining its slots. Fox was just about to pick one up until he noticed that one of the slots was empty.

"_Hmm…Falco must've gotten one already…He's always had an itchy trigger finger."_ Fox thought as he picked one up and gave it a look. Shouldering the weapon, he found it to be a perfect fit. Right when he placed it onto his shoulder, he got a clear look down its 3x power red dot sight.

"This'll do nicely." He thought as he slung it over his right shoulder. Just as he was about to walk over to where the ammunition was kept, he heard an extremely loud clang behind him. Whirling around, he hoped inside of his mind that he wouldn't see a firearm on the ground firing wildly in circles.

Instead, the only thing he saw was Krystal, standing about five feet behind him, laughing as Fox became to capture himself from the scare she had given him.

Fox was surprised to see her out of her flight suit, and into a uniform that almost exactly resembled the one Fox was wearing now: Vest, loose black shirt, thigh holster, and jean shorts. Fox's reached down to his thighs, for air circulation on Sauria's climate, while Krystal's were several inches above her knees.

"Good job…" He said as he walked over to her, standing almost directly in front of her, with a playful smile on his face and a bright shade of crimson under his fur.

"Krystal…I don't trust you with any of these things anymore." Fox said, playfully trying to wrestle the empty rifle out of her grip.

"You weren't saying that when I saved you at the Sargasso colony, Foxie." Krystal said as she jerked back, taking the rifle out of Fox's grip. Fox smiled and kissed her, knowing that he had lost this little argument.

"You've got a good point."

"Who knows, Fox? Maybe you'll end up saving _me_ next time." She said. Fox hugged her tightly and stroked her hair.

"Let's just hope that won't be the worst-case scenario down there." He said as he let her go, arms still around her waist.

"Yeah…" Krystal said. "It's not like this'll be worse than the asteroid field."

Fox sighed. "This is getting too somber." He said as he wiggled his claws under her arms. As he expected, she burst out laughing.

"Come, on Fox. Hahahaha cut it out! All right it's not somber anymore; you win. You whihihihihin! Come on let me go!"

Fox grinned, deciding to be merciful this time to Krystal.

"You're such a jerk, Fox." Krystal said, slapping him lightly on the arm.

Fox put on an evil grin. "I know." He said as he swept her off her feet and into his arms. Krystal giggled as she put an arm around his neck.

"But you're a handsome, lovable jerk." Krystal said, resting her head on his shoulder. Krystal turned her head towards Fox's, giving him a passionate kiss, neither of them pulling away. Fox thanked Heaven for his fur, because his skin was a burning scarlet underneath it.

"You're not much better." He said with a grin as he put her down. Krystal giggled that quick laugh that Fox loved so much, and her mouth dropped open with a look of playful shock, giving Fox a false punch in the arm. Fox grabbed his arm, pretending it had really hurt.

"Come on, Krys. I'm kidding. You're…you." Fox said as he let go. Krystal took several steps toward him, coming face to face.

"What, my dear Fox, do you mean by _that_?" She asked, a playful/seductive smile across her face as she ran her finger up his chin to his bottom lip.

"Why you outta know. You're the most beautiful thing I've laid eyes on." He said, struggling with all his might not to let his voice break up or stutter mid-way in sentence.

"I practically fell in love with you the day that I met you." Fox was blushing along with Krystal, as a lovesick grin spread across both their faces. He stroked his hand through her hair, and Krystal, her arms around his neck as he held her, did the same.

"Well, Fox. That's quite the gentlemanly thing to say to a lady." Krystal said, moving her tail to meet his. Fox nearly jumped, but kept his cool, only raising an eyebrow, smiling menacingly at her. Krystal wore a rather playful smile, wondering what Fox may try to do next. Before he had a chance to act, she spoke up.

"Well, Fox McCloud, you're yourself too, to say the least. But, let's not spoil our date standing here in the oh so user-friendly armory. Perhaps over dinner after we get done with Sauria. That should slow 'em down long enough for a night out, wouldn't you say?"

"God I hope so, and..er..what?." Fox said. Krystal grinned and Kissed Fox on the lips tenderly.

"I think we need to go out after this…y'know? Something relaxing, for once. I mean, something traditional for once, after all. I don't think that first kiss we had when you were having that flashback about your parents is exactly what either of us would like to remember as a first kiss." Krystal said. Fox smiled back at her, a smile not of playfulness or greeting. Just a smile of pure love to Krystal.

"That'd be great, Krys. I was thinking the same thing myself. But isn't the gentleman supposed to ask his lady out on a date?"

"Fox?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up." She said playfully. "Remember? I'm telepathic, and I know you've had it in your head for a while now, so technically, you did." Krystal said with a giggle. Fox shrugged his shoulders.

"So, leave it at that, Foxie." She said.

Fox hugged her tight, not saying a word. Some sixty to seventy seconds later, Krystal walked over to the shelves, picking up several weapons and inspecting them, before choosing her weapon of choice; a sub-machine gun, firing the lighter-recoiling pistol rounds, but with the full-auto stopping power of an AR.

Fox picked up several magazines and several more boxes of rifle ammunition and shoveled them into his pocket.

"Y'know what, Krystal?" Fox asked. Krystal glanced at him while stuffing a pistol clip into her pocket. "Yeah?"

"I think we need to go out after this…y'know? Something relaxing. I mean, after all. Sargasso wasn't exactly what I'd like to remember as a first kiss." Fox said. Krystal smiled back at him, a smile not of playfulness or greeting. Just a smile of pure love to Fox.

"That'd be great, Fox. I was thinking the same thing myself."

"We don't have long before we hit Sauria's orbit; about six minutes by my watch. Grab some gear, and a _lot_ of ammo. I've been sensing a lot of enemy life-force again." Krystal said.

"What? Do you mean like Pigma in the meteor field?"

"No, Fox…I'm sensing great numbers, not one massive being."

Fox smiled. "Good. Then they'll be easier to take out with a rifle."

Krystal laughed. "Well, that's a good way to put it."

"We probably need to head up to the bridge. The team's waiting, and if I know Falco, he'll start a rumor." Fox said with a grin. Krystal nodded as Fox put an arm around her shoulders and they walked up the corridor to the Great Fox's bridge.

With the doors sliding open, Fox noticed that a face was on the VAC; it was a face that Fox had seen somewhere before.

"Hey, Fox. Long time, no see, pal."

"Same to you, Katt." He said back with a grin.

"It's been a while."

"Pfft…not long enough." Falco said with a laugh as he stood up from Fox's chair in the center of the bridge. Katt rolled her eyes at Falco's remark. Fox looked around to see who was on the bridge, and Peppy nodded his head in greeting as Fox's eyes met his for a second. Fox nodded back, and introduced Krystal to Katt Monroe.

"Oh yeah…I've heard so much about you from General Pepper." Katt said with a smile. "It's great to see you. I guess we'll be able to meet in person in about…oh…five minutes."

Falco's eyes shot up at the screen instantly at her statement. Katt glanced at him and raised an eyebrow with a grin.

"Yeah, I'm coming up to see you, Falco. Get over it. How could I leave you guys hanging when the Lylat System is in this much danger? I didn't ditch you when Andross was trying to screw everything over, did I?" She said. Fox was about to speak, but Peppy stood up from his seat.

"Well, Katt. Your arrival will be a much needed one, to say the least. Any and all help for Sauria is greatly needed. I hate to cut you short, but we have an incoming transmission on a military frequency. I'll see you in a few minutes." Peppy said.

Katt nodded and cut the transmission. The next face that showed up after the brief static was one that Fox had least expected to see.

"Lanshius to Great Fox. I heard you needed some assistance."

Fox was the first to speak. "Captain. Wow, it's good to see you again. What kind of assistance can you offer us? You should know by now that we'll take whatever you offer."

"Well, Commander McCloud, I've been granted a fleet of Cornerian cruisers, especially put aside for until the Aparoid offensive is destroyed. Three to be exact. Perhaps that may offer some help. Your old pal Bill Grey has also docked on my lead cruiser as well. He'll be leading the squadron of fighters I brought along, just in case."

Slippy nodded, Krystal put her hand on Fox's shoulder, and Peppy let out a great sigh of relief as they heard the news. Fox nodded, a grin spreading nearly ear to ear.

"Think of it as a repay of debt from Fortuna, Fox." Trent said.

"Acknowledged, Trent. We'll meet again at Sauria." Fox said.

"Acknowledged. Over and out."

"Well, that's great news to hear." Fox said as he walked and sat down in the central bridge chair, rifle still slung to his back. "Pep, how long until we reach orbit around Sauria?"

"We'll be there in about fifteen minutes, Fox. I recommend that you and Krystal head to your Arwings. "Ok. I want you to give me updates on the aerial battle as it progresses. Krystal and I will do the same on the ground."

Peppy interrupted. "But…Fox; there's something you need to see." Peppy said in a suddenly dark tone. "Follow me. Slippy found those pictures…" He said, walking to the bridge. Fox's heart sunk slightly, wondering what it could be on those pictures that Peppy has to show him.

Darkness seemed to engulf the bridge as Peppy and the team walked onto it in complete silence, with Peppy sitting down in Fox's chair, tapping commands into the computer. What broadcasted on the main view screen terrified Fox, and Krystal let out a gasp, covering her mouth with her hands in total shock.

A thorntail, one of the shorter creatures of Sauria. Several feet taller than Fox, and the most peaceful inhabitants of the planet. Fox had personally acquainted himself with one who opened the gateway to Dragon Rock, one of the final and most crucial chapters of the expedition.

The thorntail was lying on its side, breathing heavily, in its own blood. There weren't any aparoids nearby, but the damage had been done. On its side, near its head, were bright blue spots, almost like a cancerous growth, spreading from its head, down to its neck, stretching across some of its back down to his underside. Clearly this was what Fox and the team were fighting with in the asteroid field…this is what had happened to the Cornerians in the base. Fox felt his fists begin to clench tightly in rage, his fingernails nearly drawing blood from his palms.

"_This…this…_" Fox whispered under his breath.

"Fox…It…It's horrible." Slippy said quietly.

"Oh my God…" Falco said as he took a step back in horror from the image.

Krystal let her breath out slowly, still saying nothing at all. Fox couldn't hear any thoughts, even with his ring still being on his finger. Krystal was speechless, even in her mind. Fox walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her neck, pulling her to him, trying to ease her apparent pain. Fox could feel her heart, nearly pounding itself out of her chest.

Fox could feel his heart pace begin to quicken and rage engulf him as he looked back up at the view screen. The rifle suddenly became heavy on his back as Fox knew that he'd need a _lot _more ammo than expected. He was going to personally make sure that every one of the aparoids was dead by the end of the mission.

"This…this is unforgivable." Fox said quietly, trying to keep himself from yelling, and shooting the view screen with his pistol.

Fox took a step back from Krystal, bringing all the eyes of the team to him as he walked near the screen. Fox looked at it, then to the floor, feeling the anger pulse through him just as fast as his blood was. Fox turned around and looked at the StarFox team before him.

"We…We can NOT let them have this planet. I don't give a damn if they kill me too, but they're not taking Sauria…Hell…they can't even fight back. Some damn way for a mighty force to fight. To kill creatures that can't EVEN FIGHT BACK!" Fox yelled, startling the team before him.

"We're NOT going to lose." He said, eyeing each one of the team members, waiting for a response. Krystal was the first to step forward. She walked right in front of him, neither of them saying a word for several seconds. Fox staring at her, trying to smile, Krystal staring back with tears in her eyes, also possessing a weak smile. She turned around, withdrew her rifle, and racked the charging handle back with force, letting it fly forward with a loud clang.

The rest of the team quickly got the hint. Falco picked up his helmet he had set down on the floor and placed it under his arm. Slippy did the same, and Katt walked into the bridge just as the team, with the exception of Peppy, was about to make their way down the hall. Katt had a smile on her face, and mischief in her eyes.

"Come on, Fox. Don't hog all the fun. It's not just you guys kickin' tail." She said. Fox's old friend and alibi in the Venomian offensive, Katt Monroe was standing before him carrying an older model flight helmet, in an older Zonessian uniform, one that slightly resembled Fox's, from the time before the planet was destroyed by Andross. Despite all the pain and suffering these years had to offer her, she still looked the same as Fox had seen her last. Her fur, still as pink as it was those years ago, and her eyes still hadn't lost their yellow luster.

"Katt, it's great to see you again. How've the years been treating you?" He asked as he gave his friend a hug.

"Oh…fine, I guess. Haven't seen much action lately, but I'm still staying in touch with Falco." She said with a grin as her and team began to walk together down the hall to the hangar. Falco rolled his eyes and grinned as he walked up to her and gave her a hug.

"You just _really_ don't like to show that you have a soft spot, do you Falco?" Slippy asked.

"Keep croakin', toady. Watch what happens up there if you don't shut up." He said with an evil grin turned towards Slippy. Slippy turned around and didn't say another word.

"Well unfortunately for you, Falco, I'm going to be airborne for this one. See the hardware?" She said as she pointed to her helmet. Falco nodded. "My old ship's in the hangar.

"Pretty old model, though, isn't it?" He said.

"Yeah, so? I'll make a bet with you. I bet you a hundred credits that I kill more Aparoids with that old rust bucket than you do with your brand new Arwing." Katt said. Falco nodded and shook her hand.

"Done bet."

Fox grinned. "Sorry to cut you two out of your gambling ring, but we've got some Arwings to climb into. Let's get this over with." Fox said as he got up and began walking to the exit of the bridge.

"Right behind you." Krystal said as she met up with him and placed her hand in his as Fox walked beside her. Fox felt good about this mission awaiting him, but he still felt that something was awkwardly wrong…

"All right, team. Do we have all necessary gear? Guns and all?" Fox asked over the comm frequency as the airlocks hissed and the canopy slid shut with several clicks and whirrs of the mechanism.

"Yeah, Fox." Falco said.

"I think twenty clips ought to be enough." Krystal replied.

"I think I've got everything…" Slippy hesitated.

"Clear, Fox. It's good to be back." Katt said.

"Yep…just like old times." Fox said with a grin as ROB's voice sounded over the ship-wide comm.

"Weapons primed, Engines at nominal. Life-support systems optimal. Alpha interface supported. All systems are go. Arwings are ready for launch."

"Here goes nothing." Katt said, sounding slightly nervous.

"Three…two…one…launch."

Fox let out a whoop as his head was accelerated into the leather cushioned seat of the Arwing from the force of being thrown out of the hangar at near-light speed.

Fox took a deep breath as he looked around, noticing the stars and the illustrious glow of the fiery Sector Z nebula in his northwest corner of view. It gave him a sense of relaxation; the bright orange and yellow lights of the z-shaped hovering nebula, illuminating his Arwing with a faint orange glow.

Fox remembered that battle he had won in the nebula, within its orange and yellow lights. The attack directed mainly to the Great Fox, but it was not directed with enemy fighters mainly. It was directed with thermonuclear warheads. Like the battle Fox was about to face before him, if he lost, there would be insurmountable consequences following the wake of the defeat.

Fox's eyes turned suddenly forward as he felt a tremor go through his Arwing. Fox expected to see the usual fire lapping around the nose of his Arwing, but what he saw made his blood run cold.

"Evasive maneuvers!" He yelled as he threw his Arwing into a sharp barrel roll, trying to dodge hundreds of glowing beams of pure energy being fired from some unknown source on the surface. "_The Aparoids must have set up turrets_" Fox thought, but how they set up hundreds of them, he'd never know.

"Crap! Keep your senses up, everyone! Keep maneuvering. If one of these things even _clips _your ship, you're dead."

A chorus of copy's came into Fox's cockpit over the deafening noise of the vibrations from the beams of glowing energy scorched the near sides of his ship left and right.

"Damn…" He mumbled as he began banking from left to right, desperately trying to dodge everything he can.

"Fox! The enemy fire…it's too heavy. We've got to abort!" Falco said into the comm, mixed with a faint sound of explosions in the background of the frequency.

"I've NEVER stopped a mission, and I am damn sure that I'm NOT going to quit this one!" Fox yelled back into the comm as he went further and further into the atmosphere, along with the rest of the team following behind him, zigzagging every way possible to avoid the hundreds of thousands of colossal blue blasts emanating from the surface of the once peaceful Sauria.

"We're almost there; just a few hundred more kilometers." Fox said, gritting his teeth as the numbers ticked down on his HUD console. 243.76 km…187.53 km…

Fox could only wish that the numbers would move down _much_ faster. Every beam that flew by him could be the last thing that he saw.

"Where the hell is Trent! We need some cover!" Fox said to nobody in particular as he pulled a somersault, dodging a beam that would have ended his life.

Beads of sweat dripped off of his head and stung his eyes as Fox pulled great amounts of G-forces with every twist and turn he made in his ship. For something so large, Fox couldn't help to admire the quickness of its controls, especially in such a dire situation as this.

Fox glanced at his HUD readings, seeing that the numbers had not changed much since he looked at them last. Fox grunted in frustration as he realized that he hadn't even been trying to get to the surface.

"Everyone, point your noses at the surface of the planet. We're gonna break through this barrage." Fox yelled over the comm.

"What! Are you freakin' insane!" Falco asked.

"Are you serious?" Katt asked.

Fox sighed. "Maybe I am, but I'm damn serious. All right. Team, form up on my six, and follow my lead. Keep tight, people. Let's move!"

Fox closed his eyes for a moment, and took a deep breath.

"_Don't worry Fox. They, we all trust you._" Came Krystal's voice telepathically to Fox.

"_I know…I just hope I know what I'm doing…_"

Fox aimed the nose dead at where ThornTail Hollow was located, and jammed the throttle all the way up to its maximum speed.

"Hang on!"

Fox was pulling the flight stick nearly every direction, making sure the beams didn't knick the wings as the came flying by his Arwing, parallel to the wings. If one hit him dead on, at least he wouldn't feel anything.

The numbers began to tick down by the twenties, and the G-Forces in the Arwing began to build up just as fast. Fox was gritting his teeth and grasping the controls with all his might as he began to get light-headed from the G's.

The HUD was in the 80 km. Range when Fox cut the speed and breached the enemy Anti-Aircraft and the atmospheric resistance. Fox, and the whole rest of the team breathed a sigh of relief as their adrenaline rush left them, calming their senses and re-orientating them from the pull of the G-forces.

"There's not enough room in the Hollow for five ships. Krystal and I will take the surface; the rest of you, watch the air and give us cover. If one of us fails, we all will. We can't lose this mission."

"Copy." The team replied.

Fox nodded. "Good. Fox out." He said and engaged the landing mechanisms in his cockpit.

"Radar's starting to send in a bunch of bleeps. They're concentrated inside of Thorntail Hollow and the Walled city. There's nothing in Cape Claw, and minimum contacts in Moon Mountain Pass. Krystal, land your ship at the city and I'll meet up with you. Will you be ok?"

"Don't worry about me, Fox. I can hold my ground."

"Yeah I know."

Fox opened up the canopy, and as soon as it opened, he jumped out and grabbed the rifle from the undercarriage compartment, loading a fresh round in the chamber, and firing it at the first aparoid that came crawling towards, followed by many more behind him.

"Fox…Something's wrong." Krystal said. Fox's ears swept back. "I…I don't see _any_ dinosaurs anywhere yet. No Earthwalkers, nothing. I can't even sense a thought pattern."

"Not anything?"

"No…there's nothing now…wait…Oh Fox. They…there's a few around here, but they're dead. I guess you were right. They couldn't take the virus."

Fox's heart sunk. "Well…at least we won't have to kill them ourselves."

"I hope Tricky was one of the luckier ones…I hope he survived."

Fox's heart quickened. "Maybe…they found shelter somewhere. We've got to hope for the best now. That's all we can do."

"Understood. Krystal out."

"Falco, how's it looking in the skies?" Fox said into his wrist comm.

"Well, we're near the mountain…I'm sure you don't see much, but we're getting bombarded up here!"

"Yeah, I see you guys, Can you hold 'em off for now?"

"Sure we…"

Fox raised an eyebrow as he looked towards Ice Mountian, seeing blue and green lasers being exchanged back and forth between the three ships and the aparoids.

"Yeah, Fox. We'll be _just_ fine." Falco said with a mischievous tone in his voice.

"Umm…Ok, Just watch your-" Fox began, but heard a gigantic explosion overhead accompanied by a familiar voice over the radio, and seeing a Cornerian BattleCruiser flying overhead, towards Falco's position.

"Heck yeah, Fox! How'd you like that. Those turrets that gave you some trouble are history now, man. Lucky they were outside of the Walled City and away from any of you guys, so what else could I do. I dropped a rather…medium-sized… bomb." Trent said with a laugh as he stood up from his chair on the bridge. Trent turned to his first officer, a young arctic Fox, several years younger than him.

"The bridge is yours, number one." He said and walked off the bridge to the hangar, where a Cornerian fighter was awaiting him.

"All right, Trent. That's good to know. Launch some fighters out of that ship of yours. We could sure use a bit of reinforcements. This isn't going to be easy."

"Acknowledged." Trent said he strapped on his helmet and his the cruiser began to ascend into Sauria's orbit, but not before releasing a whole squadron of Cornerian fighters, with one in particular that caught Fox's eye as it descended.

"What's up, Bill. Nice to see you finally got here." Fox said.

"How's it hangin, buddy? Leave me some down there."

"Not a chance, Bill."

"All right, Fox. This should even it out a bit. I just hope I can still fly this fighter as good as I used to." Came Trent's voice over the radio.

"Nice to see you've joined us on the front." Fox said. "Just don't get killed."

"Will do." Trent said, opening fire on any airborne aparoid specimen that was unfortunate enough to cross into his sights. Trent put on some shades over his white fur and switched his laser cannons to full auto. He grinned, squeezing the dual triggers and letting everything fly at once.

Five nova bombs flew out of the end of his fighter, accompanied by a woop on the radio from him as they all found marks in one enemy or another. Fox took a quick glance at the tip of Ice Mountain, seeing the four ships against a countless swarm of an aparoid armada. As hopeless as it seemed, Fox still had that gut instinct that they would pull out of this one okay, even the dinosaurs of Sauria.

"All right, Fox. We're keeping them busy up he--Oof!" Trent said.

"Trent, come in." Fox said, still letting rounds fly continuously out of the end of the AR, trying to break through the mob and get to the hatcher across on the other side of the well in the southern end of the hollow.

"Damn, I'm hit. Havin' problems here, but I'm okay." Trent said.

"Take it easy, man. We need you and your squadron for the rest of this. Don't get shot down, because I'll kick your tail." Fox said with a laugh over the comm.

"Acknowledged, Fox. I'll be--" Trent said. Fox heard an explosion, and a Cornerian fighter hurtled out of Fox's sight, towards the surface of Moon Mountain Pass.

"No!" Fox screamed, realizing that it was Trent's fighter. He came to a stop as he realized he was backed up against a cliff of the hollow, with no place to go.

"_Great…I'm screwed now…_"Fox thought. He kept his rifle aimed ahead as the aparoids walked ever so slowly towards him. He knew that they were going to enjoy trying to take him out. They've been trying to after all for this whole offensive.

Just when Fox was about to provoke them by opening fire, he heard a whine coming from the southern side of the Hollow. A battered fighter, engulfed in flames, emerged, flying rather slow, from the area around the Snowhorn Wastes near the mountain. Fox dove under cover, any piece of rock he could, and hoped that the fighter didn't hit him and splatter him all over the cliff.

Sounds of laser blasts filled the air, and Fox felt the stinging heat and wind of multiple explosions no more than thirty feet from where he was. Then the ground shook as the unknown fighter careened into the dirt, further taking out any other aparoids in the immediate area.

Fox stood up, dusted off his suit, and walked over to the fighter, considering nothing else was left in the hollow to shoot at for the moment.

The canopy hissed as its mechanisms released and opened up the bubble, and the pilot threw a flight helmet out.

"That was some shooting, to say the least. You saved my life." Fox said, walking up to greet the pilot, though still glancing around, wary for any other signs of enemies.

"Well, glad I could help." Came Trent Lanshius' voice as he climbed out of the cockpit and jumped onto the soil of Sauria.

"Wow, Captain. You're just as burnt up as the first time I saw you at Fortuna."

Trent exposed a high-powered pistol from his thigh holster. "Seems history has a way of repeating itself." Fox nodded.

Fox heard a scraping above him as he racked the bolt forward on his rifle, and knew that something was about to go wrong. Four aparoids had jumped from the cliff, trying to surprise Fox. His instincts kicked in, as well as Trent's.

Fox caught the sound of the enemy in his ears and took a quick running start, whirled around, diving to the ground on his back. As he dived, he squeezed the trigger on his rifle and let as many as 30 rounds fly on full automatic. Most of them found there mark, but there were two alive. Fox gathered himself as he stood up and shouldered his rifle. Trent fired several aimed shots, killing the two remaining enemies where they stood, feet from where Fox and Trent were standing.

"Nicely done, Captain." Fox said. Trent nodded and lowered his pistol.

"_Close one…How are you holding out, Krystal_?" Fox thought as he glanced at his ring to make sure it was on his finger tightly, making a quick run for the hatcher across from the well, Trent facing behind him, covering his back for any surprises.

"_All right. There's a bunch of 'em though, Fox. Some air cover would be nice soon._" Krystal thought back as she dove into the Sun temple, narrowly dodging a blast from one of the same enemy on Katina that emitted the hurling orbs of dark energy. Krystal got up, shook her head clear, and picked up her high-powered automatic pistol and her sub-machine gun. She closed her eyes and concentrated on where its thought patterns were emanating from. Strapping the SMG on her back, she made her way to the top of the temple's red and white stone pyramid, vanquishing a few on the way.

"Ha. Got 'em." She said to herself with a grin as she flipped up the target sights on her pistol and adjusted them to 200 meters; her estimate on where the enemy was, on a cliff clear on the other side of the city, some 150 feet above sea level. Krystal now regretted for this one second not picking up an AR. The SMG just didn't have the accuracy. Krystal dropped the clip, showing enough energy for one more shot left. She knew if she missed this shot, then she'd be dead for sure.

Taking a firm hold of the grip in her right hand and controlling it with her left, she put gradual pressure on the trigger until it broke, releasing the shimmering laser blast out of the end of the barrel. Krystal stood up as she watched the colossal aparoid plummet to the ground below. Krystal clenched her fist and let out a 'yes' of excitement, as she didn't expect to make that first shot.

"_Fox, I think I'd give you a run for your money in shooting." _She thought back to him.

"_Sure you would…what'd you do? Make a hundred meter shot with a pistol?"_

Krystal laughed. "_Nope. Two-hundred._"

"_Ouch…_"

Krystal withdrew her sub-machine gun, storming out of the Sun temple's entryway with the barrel moving in almost every direction on full-auto fire, with nearly every round finding its mark in one aparoid or another, considering the great number of enemies amassed against her. Krystal dashed to the center stone pyramid, enemy lasers flying all around her body, just as her gun expended the last round in the magazine.

She pulled out a fresh 50-round box out of her back right pocket of her battle uniform and rammed it into the well just as the empty one hit the ground with a flick of her thumb to the mag catch.

Just as it clicked in, she gasped in pain as she clutched her right arm with her other hand. There was a sharp, searing pain on her arm near her shoulder about the length of her hand, and it was oozing her Cerinian blood onto the Saurian soil.

She instinctively dove to the ground and turned around to see what was behind her. An aparoidan entity, resembling a somewhat scaled-down version of the landmaster, had fired a laser, impacting her arm. Krystal aimed her SMG at it and fired, emptying the magazine and destroying the aparoid.

Krystal gritted her teeth as she began to tear off the fabric from her shirt, just under her neck and just above her chest.

She grinned through her swelling pain, wondering what Fox would say when he saw her without the fabric covering, and showing just a small bit of there as she wrapped it tight around her wound and pulled it, tying it into a knot. Krystal pulled the piece of shirt with her teeth and racked back the bolt on her SMG. A crude field dressing, but it would do for now, she thought as she repositioned the sub-machine gun in her left, and weaker, hand.

Fox pulled out a hand grenade from one of his several vest pouches and hurled it into a cavern across the lake of Thorntail Hollow, where several enemies had appeared from inside the past few minutes.

Taking a glance at the cavern, he fired several rounds into it to ensure that any aparoids attempting to exit the cavern were killed as he glanced all around him, trying to hold off the dozens of the insectoids charging him from nearly every direction. On top of that, he and Trent were still dodging enemy laser blasts from turrets and mobile creatures alike at the same time. It just now occurred to Fox how much of a hopeless situation he seemed to be in.

"Damn, this is pretty hopeless." Trent said, reloading his pistol.

"Don't quit fightin' until the fight is done, Trent. It's not over yet."

The grenade exploded inside the cavern after emitting the light from its fusion core, sending fragments of rock in every direction. Fox winced as several pebbles struck him on the head, falling from the massive explosion.

"Well, that was easy, but…I think I've been in there before…Aww crap!" Fox said to himself, realizing that what he had just totally obliterated was one of the magic caves, a place he had gone to upgrade the power of Krystal's staff when he had it. "_Whoops…_" Fox thought as he glanced at his radar, seeing nearly two-dozen of the yellow contacts go off screen along with two hatcher contacts.

"Nice shootin', Fox. How'd you manage that one?" Peppy asked over the comm from the Great Fox Bridge. Fox ran over to the partially demolished Thorntail Store, a place where Fox had acquired objects vital to his expedition, and braced his back against a pile of rubble near the entryway as he dropped the magazine out of his assault rifle and pressed in a fresh 50 round box.

"Peppy, It's called fragmentation." Fox said rather loudly into his wrist comm over the heat of the battle. Fox could hear Peppy and Trent laugh, but that noise was drowned out as he fired three-round bursts into the crowd of enemy trying to charge him from across the creek.

Fox glanced at his radar as he hurled a grenade into the mob, trying desperately to see the red dot on his radar indicating the presence of a hatcher.

"All right, Fox. There's only two of 'em left now. You've almost got it." Peppy said over the comm.

Trent dove behind cover, behind a rock barrier at the small temple near Fox's position, as he fired blindly into the still oncoming mob. Fox dove behind the cover where Trent was and studied his radar for a quick second as he fired bursts blindly over the top of the stone.

"There's still on in the Walled City. They keep coming over that cliff. It's the only place." The last one was indeed in the Walled City, over the cliffs that surrounded the Hollow on its south side. Trent nodded.

"But how do we get over there?" Trent asked.

"Over the cliffs. Krystal's holding 'em off for us."

"Are you sure? there's a whole army coming just for us." Trent asked inquisitively.

"Trust me, man. If anyone can fight off a whole army, she can."

"_How you holding out, Krystal?_"

"_Good for now. There'll be more coming here soon, and I need your help, but for now, I'm sensing another being coming into your area. Its patterns are getting stronger by the minute._"

Trent fired into the mob coming over the cliffs with his pistol, as Fox did the same with his AR.

"_Can you tell what it is?_"

Fox covered his head, attempting to shield himself from the blasts, when all of a sudden, they went silent. Fox looked around, his AR packed tightly against his shoulder. Fox stuck his head over the rubble just far enough for his eyes to see over, and the smaller aparoids were beginning to just walk away from his position. Fox stood up, but none of them fired a shot. "_Maybe they surrendered…no, that's not possible…_" Fox thought.

"_I can now…Oh no…Fox…you're about to get a BIG welcome…_" He heard Krystal's voice telepathically.

"I…what_?" _Fox began to say, but heard the ground shake beneath his feet. It shook, about every three seconds, and each one became louder than the last.

"_What the…?_"

"_Fox, I don't know what it is, but it's Saurian. I hope for everything that it's not tricky._" Came Krystal's voice.

"Oh God…" Fox said to himself, contemplating this possibility in his mind, the footsteps becoming ever louder. Fox turned to face the Northeastern side of the Hollow, towards Cape Claw, and saw one of the worst things that could have come to mind.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me…" Trent whispered, seeing what was perhaps the most majestic tribe of all the dinosaurs, and, as luck would have it, the last of its kind. The only high-top, that Fox had met himself, had been absorbed into the aparoid forces already. Fox knew before the engagement that one of them most likely would have accepted the virus, but this was the last one that Fox wanted to see like this.

Fox lowered his rifle as his jaw dropped in horror. It had been severely affected, viral infections spreading down from its head to its neck, and also possessing irregular, large colored splotches in globs across most of its entire body.

"No…" He said as the behemoth let out a cry of agony that curled the hairs of Fox's neck. It swung down its neck, trying to knock Fox off his feet, but he dodged, jumping backwards and landing on his back on the Saurian soil. Trent fired a round into it and dove into the entryway of the Throntail store, trying to hide his position from the high-top.

"Don't shoot it yet!" Fox yelled over the sound of the beast. "Hold on for a second, Trent!"

"What!" Trent yelled, but Fox didn't respond.

"_Krystal…Is there a way I can avoid killing it? I…I know this one personally…_"

"_Fox, you said it yourself…It's them or us. I'm sorry._"

"Okay…" Fox said to himself, raising the rifle at nearly a fifty degree angle to get the sights in line with the affected portion of the beast. Fox reluctantly took aim for the high-top's head, and squeezed off a round.

Trent followed Fox's lead. He fired also, and their shots found their marks, but the dinosaur still stood. Fox cursed under his breath as he switched the AR to full-auto. "I'm sorry." He said to himself, and mainly the high-top, as the rifle spit out rounds at the dinosaur's flesh, and as the high-top fought back, swinging his great neck down, trying to knock Fox and Trent off their feet, while making attempts to step on him at the same time.

Several rounds hit before it finally stopped fighting back. The gun stopped firing, out of ammo but Fox's finger still squeezed tightly on the trigger involuntarily, waiting for something to happen.

The colossal dinosaur swayed, let out a dying moan, and fell to the ground, its breath and life having left him. Without thinking, Fox dove back behind the rock border where Trent was barricaded as he heard the aparoids begin to regroup from his right, onto his position once again.

"Dammit, there could've been another way." He said over and over again to himself as he switched out magazines on his AR and re-situated himself behind the rock, next to Trent.

"Fox…I'm in some real trouble here. I'm being overrun" Came Krystal's voice through the comm. Fox was surprised he had heard it through the noise.

"I'll be there as soon I can." Fox said into his comm and tapped Trent on the shoulder to let him know of the situation.

"What's up, Fox?"

"Krystal's in trouble. Hold out here, Trent. Enemy forces are starting to go down because of that hatcher I demolished, and there's not much left around here. But they're overwhelming Krys in the city." Fox said as a laser blast hit the ground some ten feet away from where he was crouching. Trent fired several rounds at the source of the blast, hunkered back down and nodded to Fox.

"Will you be okay?" Fox asked. Trent fired over the rubble, his rounds finding marks in several insectoid and tank-like specimens alike.

"Go save her, Fox. I'll hold my ground here."

Fox took a deep breath as he climbed from behind the rubble, blazing with the assault rifle in every direction. He saw a break in the aparoid's lines and he set off in a run towards his Arwing, tapping buttons on his wrist unit, signaling the ship to start up automatically.

Right before Fox got to the ship, the commands he had entered had begun starting up the ship. The engine began to warm up and all systems were online as he jumped into the cockpit and strapped himself in.

"Krystal, there's an underground cavern on the north side of the big center pyramid, several meters in front of its base. Get inside of it as quick as you can; I'm gonna do a flyover and strafe everything I can." Fox said as he lifted the Arwing up, firing some shots with his rifle before the canopy closed.

"Sure thing, Fox. Hurry." She said weakly.

"Krystal? Are you okay?" Fox asked into the comm, his heart sinking.

"Yes…I'm holding out for now. It's been a toll, but I'll make it. I just need you here." She said back.

"I'll be there shortly. Find some cover, Krys. I love you. Fox out."

"I love you too, Fox."

Krystal lowered her left arm from in front of her face as she radioed her last transmission and fired her SMGs last rounds of ammo into the continuously oncoming crowd of enemy forces approaching her from the moon temple, clear across the other side of the city.

She threw her gun at the enemy and drew her pistol, setting off in a run towards the center pyramid's north side, clutching the wound on her left arm. Krystal herself was not even sure that she would be able to make it to the cavern. It was still bleeding, and she had lost a lot of blood by now…

Falco Lombardi swooped his Arwing down low and glanced from outside his cockpit to see the scene below in the city. His eyes narrowed at what he saw.

A single blue dot, running and zigzagging from what looked like a whole cloud of darkness, being the aparoid forces not far behind her. "_Dammit, if I shoot I'll probably hit her or something…Come on, Krystal…Get to some cover; Fox and I'll bail you out." _He thought.

Falco turned his attention back to the aerial battle over Ice Mountain, which he and Slippy seemed to be doing well in, but with a cost. Falco's shields were at about 10 and Slippy was doing just as bad.

Though Falco and Slippy had been raking up massive kills, they just kept coming in from all directions. Falco even had trouble choosing a target, there were so many. His mind was racing and his eyes darting in all directions, desperately trying to think up some kind of plan for the situation, which was deteriorating rapidly before him.

Krystal, with what little strength she had left, dove into the cavern in front of the City's pyramid and aimed the pistol at the door, waiting for something to try and get in. She had figured by now that this was the end, but she wasn't going to go down without taking as many of them with her as she could.

Seeing no immediate threat, she scooted herself against the back wall, beside a shrine-like object, about her full height, with a gold tooth in its mouth. Krystal took a deep breath, prayed for something, anything good, and waited for Fox's air cover.

Hearing the tell-tale sound of aparoid footsteps, she aimed her pistol at the entryway of the cavern. Several aparoids stuck their heads around the side, trying to enter. Krystal fired, hoping her ammunition wouldn't run out at the wrong time. She reached over her shoulder, and fumbled for the metal protrusion on the top of the back. Grasping it, she exposed her staff, and extended it to its full length, about six feet.

Krystal knew right when she took the staff out that everything had just gone straight to hell. She heard more foot steps, and gripped the staff tighter as they came into the door. Krystal let out a war cry that sounded like bloody murder, and jumped on the first one that came in, ramming it through the head, and she unclipped her pistol and shot the second one in the eye. They just kept pouring in from that entrance one by one, and they wouldn't stop coming.

One fired a laser through its head towards her, and she dodged it and slid under its body on her knees and impaled it in the abdomen. The only thing she was concentrating on was to make sure that every one of these things that came in wouldn't get out.

Fox, flying over the city, saw his version of hell, noticing the aparoids moving into the cavern where Krystal was located. Several dead Earthwalkers lay around the city, some of them massacred, the others' bodies had obviously not taken to the aparoid virus very well. Even from the air, Fox could notice their irregularities on their skin. "Here it comes." He said launching a nova bomb at the hatcher settled on top of the moon temple.

"Yee-hah!" Fox yelled, firing his lasers as fast as his paws could press the trigger, stirring up great clouds of dust as well as aparoids in doing so. He concentrated the brunt of his firepower at the entrance of the cavern where Krystal was, vaporizing everything that was standing there, about fifty to sixty of all the aparoids Fox had faced so far. Fox glanced up, seeing Falco being tailed by three airborne specimens, each twice as large as his own arwing. Fox shot at the city until nothing was left moving under him. Dropping one extra nova for insurance, he pulled off for a second to help Falco fend off his attackers.

Fox locked on to one of them, and yelled for Falco to roll left and clear the path. Falco acknowledged, and as Fox's hyper laser blast flew towards the center attacker. Just as it had exited the cannon on his arwing, Falco fired retros, banked low and to the left, and slammed the throttle all the way forward, sending him flying at near-light speeds to safety as the aparoids were quickly eliminated. Fox began gunning at everything that was moving in front of him, sending several dozen aparoid life forms careening to Sauria's surface.

He took a deep breath as he stopped firing, considering his cannons were beginning to overheat. He let go of the trigger, realizing that he had cracked some of the polymer material because he was pressing it too hard.

"Falco. Can you handle it up here?" Fox said, sweat pouring from his brow as he looked at the city, with nothing moving at all now. Hatcher, and the Moon Temple it rested on lying in ruins.

"Fox, shut up and save your girl." Bill said over the comm. Fox grinned.

"We're fine, Fox. You heard the man." Slippy said back. "Tide's beginning to turn."

"Ok." Fox said and sent his Arwing in a kickspin, having it face back towards the Walled City.

"Krystal, can you hear me?" Fox said. No response. "Krystal!"

Right when the ship had landed, and before the canopy had even opened fully, Fox had jumped from the ship, pistol in hand, and rushed into the temple where Krystal had gone for cover.

There Krystal was…standing boldly, staff in hand, staring at Fox, with a weak, loving smile, being she was glad to see him. At her feet lay tens of twenties of vanquished Aparoid ground forces, and an empty pistol lodged inside one's thorax. Krystal wasn't in much better shape herself. She was still oozing blood from her arm and many more abrasions and wounds across her body.

Fox saw the field dressing on her arm and his eyes widened almost involuntarily. Clearly he had had the easier portion of this whole offensive. Krystal had lost a lot of blood, as evident on where she had slid across the floor to the wall; and as Fox began to walk towards her he saw that she was burnt, torn, battered, and scarred. Her adrenaline rush was beginning to leave her, and she was swaying slightly to either side.

"Dear God…" Fox said, running to catch her as her eyes closed and she began to fall to the stone floor of the temple. Fox caught her by her arms and gently set her on the ground, still holding her head, cradling it in his hand. Fox feared for the worst. He raised his wrist comm to his face, but before he could speak, he was interrupted by Peppy's voice from the Great Fox

"Fox! We've done it! You've knocked out all the hatchers, aerial numbers are starting to decline thanks to Trent's reinforcements, and I'm picking up some friendly contacts on radar near Moon Mountain Pass; they're beginning to start fighting back now. Congrat--"

"Peppy…We've…I…we need a medic." He said, his voice breaking up. Tears were forming in his eyes, blurring his vision every time he blinked, and he was beginning to get shaky.

"Fox…what happened?" Peppy asked. "Just…Peppy, just get the ship down to the Walled City, now." Fox said back into the comm. Peppy was silent for a second, perhaps a bit of shock setting in, but Fox didn't have time to wait for a response, so he took the comm away from his face, threw his gun down and gently set Krystal's head on the floor, ripping off a piece of his shirt, and wrapping it tight around her arm to keep pressure on the wound. Just as he wrapped it around her wound, he just noticed that there was a bit of extra fur showing above her midsection where she had ripped her shirt to bandage her arm.

Fox pulled the knot as tight as he could , hoping it would be sufficient until help arrived, and picked her head back up, stroking her hair, smiling at her weakly, hoping and praying that she would regain consciousness. "Krystal…Come on…you can't die on me." He said several times, trying to reassure himself that everything would be all right.

"Sure thing, Fox. I'll get the ship down there as quick as I can." Peppy said. Fox barely heard it through the sounds of the aerial battle overhead.

"Good." Fox said and picked his beloved Krystal up, with a tear running down his cheek as he exited the tunnel, pistol still in hand, an itchy finger on the trigger, waiting for anything to move out from the shadows.

Fox heard a loud whine of a ship's engine overhead as he neared the field, and looked up to see Bill Grey's Cornerian fighter docking just several dozen yards from where Fox was standing, creating a windstorm where Fox was. Fox shielded his eyes and as the wind died down Bill jumped out of the canopy with some kind of kit in his hand and nearly stopped in his tracks midway there when he saw the condition Krystal was in.

"Geez, Fox. Is she still alive!" He asked, his eyes running from head to toe on Krystal's bruised body. Fox nodded, unable to speak.

"Well, set her down here, man." Fox did as Bill said, placing her on the ground as Bill took off his jacket and folded it into a makeshift pillow for her head to rest on. Fox grabbed the first aid kit from Bill's hand as he began to open it.

"Lucky I took battlefield medicine in the academy." Fox said somberly, ripping a portion of gauze tape off its roll with his teeth.

"Yeah it is."

"Bill, you got any water?"

He pulled out a small plastic bottle and handed it to Fox as he patched up one of the larger wounds on Krystal's left hip that was bleeding the most, and re-dressed the one on her arm. Bill lifted her head up, and Fox let several drops of water drip onto her mouth, hoping that it might wake her up.

"Damn, Fox…I don't know." Bill said quietly as Krystal still didn't move.

"Shut up, Bill." Fox whispered.

Fox kneeled down and took Krystal in his arms.

"Come on, Krys. Don't die on me. Remember? I said I'd save you this time." Fox said to her as she lay, breathing but motionless.

Fox stood up, running a hand through the fur on his head, nearly pulling some out of his head due to this overwhelming stress. He closed his eyes, trying to hold tears back as he began to feel his heart pounding madly in his chest, and he saw portions of his life flash before his eyes. The time when he had first met Krystal on Sauria, that moment when she walked to greet him on the ship, their first kiss on Sargasso, and now this…

Fox was beginning to feel as if he was losing it, when he noticed she moved. "Krystal?" He said as he kneeled back down and took her in his arms. Her eyes shot open and her pupils were so shrunken out of fear it was almost unreal as she took in a huge gulp of air. Fox smiled, tears of joy falling down his face as he saw that his love was still alive after all that this hellish mission had to offer her.

"I thought you were gone." Fox said, pulling her to him in an affectionate hug, staining his vest slightly with drops of blood.

"Relax, Fox…I wouldn't let you get off the hook that easy." She said weakly with a smile. Bill took a great sigh of relief, and exposed a rather small flask from his vest pocket.

"So…Fox." She began weakly.

"Yeah?"

"Wh…what do you think of my shirt. Would that be okay to wear for the date?" She asked with a smile. Fox chuckled and rolled his eyes, bringing them to look into her own cerulean blue ones as he leaned down and kissed her.

"Whatever you want to wear, Krys. Right now, just get back to the ship alive so we can actually _have_ our date." Fox said. Krystal gave Fox a loving smile and kissed him back.

"Ahhhh…" Bill said. Fox and Krystal turned their attention to the dog pilot, who was grinning ear to ear as he removed his shades, his dark green eyes coming into view.

"Well Geez, Fox. It's been a while since you too met, and now you ask the love of you life out on a date? 'Bout time, and what a hell of one to pick." He said. Fox grinned.

"Shut up, Bill. We planned it before this." Fox said. Krystal smiled and laughed.

"Drinks all around." Bill said and reached into his vest pocket.

Fox raised an eyebrow and Krystal squinted her eyes slightly as she saw the reflection of its chrome-plated side in the sun. Bill took a swig, who handed it to Fox. Fox took a small sip, considering it burned his throat on the way down.

He handed it back to Bill as he made perhaps the most wrinkled up, cross-eyed expression possible.

"Cheers, mate." Bill said in a bad accent as Fox broke out into coughs.

"Good grief, Bill. What is that?" Fox asked, recovering from the bite of the liquid.

"About three-fourths Cornerian ale, the rest is a bit of carbonation, with…several…drops of alcohol in the mix, just to liven it up."

"Well, I'll remember that." Fox said with a grin.

Fox's looked up to see a small vessel overhead, one of the Great Fox's standard escape shuttles. He and Bill raised an eyebrow, being that the only reason that any one of those would descend is that the ship had been destroyed. Fox looked at Bill, who shrugged his shoulders. The shuttle landed, and Peppy stumbled out, a first-aid kit in hand, slightly larger than the one Bill was carrying. He kneeled down beside a conscious Krystal, and threw the pack open.

"How is she?"

"Pep, she's doin' Ok. Me and Bill took care of it. He had his own kit." Peppy smiled and closed his kit as he looked Krystal over, making one last check to see if she was still bleeding. Fox, and Krystal, almost laughed when Peppy did notice the rather large portion of her shirt missing where she had made the field dressing earlier in the skirmish.

"Ok, Fox. Everything seems to be good here. Mind if I go ahead and return back to the ship? We've got some damages to work on." Peppy asked, standing back up and brushing his ears back.

"Sure thing, Pep. Hey, would you do us a favor?"

"Anything." Peppy said.

Fox picked Krystal up off of the Saurian soil and walked over to Peppy.

"Got room for one more?" Fox asked. Peppy nodded and Fox walked over to the medical shuttle and folded, or more so kicked, one of the beds out with his foot, considering his hands were tied. He gently laid her on the bed and gave her one more kiss.

"I'll be up in ten minutes; I promise. Just a few more to take care of down here. Will you be okay?"

Krystal nodded. "You of all people should know by now I can hold my own." She said with a playful grin. Fox nodded in agreement.

"And when you're able enough, maybe we'll come back for some 'us' time down here on Cape Claw before our little date, Krys. It's untouched, thank God. Still in the shape it was when I was there last. Sound good?" Fox asked, nuzzling his nose to hers.

"It sounds perfect, Foxie." She said back.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Fox. Now you've got some more problems to take care of out there, and I'll be okay in here. Go get 'em."

Fox nodded, gave her a soft, long kiss, and exited the shuttle to a waiting Bill Grey and an Arwing. "Take her up, Pep. I'll see you all soon."

"Will do, Fox. Have fun target shooting." He said with a grin.

"You know it."

Fox jogged over to Bill and picked up his jacket off the ground and handed it to him.

"So, Fox…what kind of plan have you got for this little date of yours?" Bill said as he placed his helmet on his head.

"Y'know Bill, I'm not really sure. I figured I could improvise."

"Well, I've got an idea. I meant to tell you earlier, but me and a few other friends of mine have our own rock band, and we're playing at the Grand Cornerian Hotel tomorrow night for a dance. Bring her along, I'm sure she would love the tuneage. How 'bout it, lover boy?"

Fox pondered, rubbing his chin in thought. "Sure, sounds okay. Two things, though. Your guitar player better be good, and what kinds of music are you playin'?"

"Oh don't you worry, my friend. I'm the lead guitar." Bill said as he climbed the stepladder to the cockpit of his fighter. Until now, Fox had never known that Bill had ever played an instrument. Fox himself had played when he was younger, before his dad died, and he had actually become quite good when he was a pup.

"_Geez…hope I can still play a little something…_"

"We're not gonna be putting out the new rave-type stuff, though."

Fox felt relief flow over him. He hated most of the newer music that blared over the speakers of his radio. It had no soul, like the old stuff did. "We'll be playin'all the old classicsand hey, maybe you can play something too." Bill said.

"Sounds good, Bill. I've got a tune in mind as well." Fox said as he climbed the ladder to his own cockpit and strapped himself into the seat.

"All right, guys. Everything seems to be done here. There's nothing left to clean up anymore that's flying." Katt Monroe said over the radio.

"Good. Falco, who won that bet?" Fox asked. It took a few seconds for him to respond.

"…She did…" He said.

"How's Krystal?" Falco asked, trying to get off the subject.

"She's doin' fine. She's got some pretty big scratches and marks on her, but she's already back up to the ship for one quick checkup, just in case."

"That's great to hear." Katt said.

"Yeah…It is." Fox said, turning his ship back around to the Great Fox's coordinates, feeling the air in his Arwing turn cold as Goosebumps dotted his skin, realizing that she could have very well died, but she didn't…It was a miracle in Fox's eyes. He looked up to the sky in silent prayer and thanks, still overly glad that he hadn't lost her.

"Trent, you need a lift?" Fox asked, lifting his ship off the ground.

"Negative, Fox. I've got my own ship to look after. Job well done, man. Take care of yourself."

"Same to you Trent. 'Till next time."

"Yeah…and I bet you fifty bucks we'll be seein' these guys again." He said, waving at Fox's Arwing as it flew overhead, gaining speed to break the atmosphere of Sauria.

"I don't doubt it."

"Let's go ahead and get back. I'm 'bout tired of looking at this blown-up little hell-hole here, and I really need a daiquiri." Fox said.

"Amen to that." Bill replied.

Back on the ship, the standard procedures were executed regarding returning from a combat mission: retrieving Krystal's ship via tractor beam, disarming the weapons systems on the Arwings, re-engaging the lift locks, the works. Soon after that was completed, and after Fox and Bill had his small portion of the strawberry daiquiri he craved, he took a quick trip to the medical bay only to find it empty, except for ROB, who was cleaning up, placing medicines and other items away and resetting the area after a checkup.

"How's she doin' Rob?" Fox asked the robotic crew member.

"Her status is nominal, and she is recovering in her quarters."

"Good. Well, I'll go check up on her. Thanks a million, Rob."

"No problem, Fox."

He exited the bay to Krystal's ship quarters, setting off in a brisk walk, in a little bit of a hurry to see how she was doing. Fox turned the knob to open the door of her quarters, figuring she was in her bed resting and regaining her strength and him not wanting to aggravate her with knocking.

Slowly turning the knob, he creaked the metallic door open, to find the bed empty, where he had figured she'd be asleep, and Krystal sitting on the cushion in her bay window, looking outside to the stars, wearing the same white tank-top and light-blue sweat pants she had worn those several nights ago. Fox walked over as quietly as he could, trying not to disturb what looked like her daydream.

"Hey, Fox." She said when he had tiptoed behind her and sat down beside her.

"Hey, Krys." Fox said as he gave her a kiss on the cheek and rubbed her shoulders forcefully, easing some tension that he was sure had accumulated over the days of fighting.

"Ohh…Wow I need that." She said with a giggle as she moved her upper body to Fox's massaging.

"Yeah…anybody should after something like that." Fox said.

"Fox…there's something that I haven't had time to explain to you, through the fighting and all. I figure now's a better time than ever."

Fox pulled her closer to him, and she rested her head on his shoulder as he stroked a hand through her cerulean blue hair.

"What's up?"

"Well, first, I'm pretty sure that you can guess that I'm…well…kind of unpredictable." She said, rolling her head over to look at him.

Fox nodded, a smile on his face.

"Yeah. That's what sets you apart from everybody else I've known. You're something else."

Krystal smiled and nuzzled her nose to Fox's.

"Well, here's a little something else that makes me even more different from the rest."

"I'm all ears." Fox said, a slight tinge of crimson forming around his cheeks, wondering what else she could possibly find to startle him with.

Krystal stood up, and lifted her shirt just a bit above her waist, where her largest wound from the fighting was, but to Fox's complete surprise, it had completely vanished. Not even a trace of scarring or even having the wound itself was there.

Fox was, to say the least, startled at this new find. He stood up, eyes rather wide, as he studied the area where the wound had just disappeared.

"Interesting, isn't it." She asked with a giggle.

"Hmm…it is. Where'd it go, Krys?" Fox asked playfully, poking at her waist where the gash had been, trying to get her to laugh that laugh Fox loved so much. She did, and Fox knew he had her right where he wanted her.

"Fox, stop. That tickles."

"_Bingo._" Fox thought. He poked and wriggled his claws around both of her waists and she erupted into laughter, walking backwards trying to get away from him.

"Oh crap not again." She said between laughing, trying to catch her breath as she fell back on the bed, having forgotten it was there as she walked backwards away from Fox.

"Come on Fox! Stohohohop it! Let mehehe go!"

"Nope, not this time, Krys." He said, standing over the bed with her laying on it, trying to escape his grasp.

"Haha okahahahay." She said, still laughing. Krystal lifted her leg even with Fox's chest, and pushed him away with her foot, just hard enough to get out of his grasp and to get some distance between him. Krystal was still catching her breath as she stood up from the bed.

"Come on Fox, you know I can fight." She said, a playful grin spreading across her face.

Fox backed down, raising his arms in surrender.

"Yep, you're right on that one. I'll back down." He said, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"So what'd I miss on Sauria earlier?" Krystal asked, resting her head on his shoulder. Fox yawned widely. Fatigue was beginning to set in as his adrenaline died down, and besides the fact that it was a late hour on Cornerian time, though it was near high noon on Sauria.

"Well, victory is ours, and Falco and the rest of the guys took care of the airborne problems we had. The ship, along with Trent, is staying in orbit for a while to aid in relief efforts, along with Trent's battle cruiser. The planet should be in great shape, aside from some of the friendly causalities, once relief is under way."

"And how long should that take?" She asked, a different, playful tone in her voice. Fox knew what she was getting at. She and Fox wanted a bit of 'them' time on Sauria, with the same goals in mind: a few hours to themselves, just to get away from it all, to relax and be with each other.

"Not long…a day, maybe two tops. There weren't that many areas hit hard."

"That's good to hear." Krystal said, shifting in his embrace slightly, stretching her arm out and yawning widely.

"Yeah…I probably ought to get some sleep myself." Fox said as he took began to take his arm from around her shoulders, but was met with a forceful impact from a pillow she had picked up while she was 'stretching' her arm across the right side of the top of the bed, close to where the two were standing. Fox looked at her with a look of playful shock on his face and she began laughing at his expression.

"Come on, Fox. There hasn't been much time to have some fun for a while. Let's take advantage of it." She said as she took another swing at Fox, missing him as he bent backwards slightly to dodge the hit. Fox caught the pillow as she swung again and clasped it in his hands, trying to wrestle it out of her grasp.

Fox felt Krystal tugging hard on it, trying to keep her only means of defense, and Fox let it go with Krystal flying backwards on the bed, laughing as she flew. Fox jumped on top of the bed, kneeling to keep his balance with Krystal under him and grabbed the pillow out of her hands as she lay laughing. Fox took it and held it over his head with a grin as she began to stop catch her breath.

"Give up?" He asked. Krystal took a hold of his vest and tugged him down to her forcefully, knocking him down directly on the bed, with them nose to nose. Krystal was wearing a sleek seductive grin across her face.

"I think I've won, Foxie." She said, giving him a quick, tender kiss.

Fox returned it, and set the pillow down beside them as they lied down, their eyes fixated upon one another in their love embrace. Fox nodded as he leaned in and affectionately gave Krystal a kiss, though it lasted longer than the last one. Krystal returned it and she could feel his hands caressing through her hair as she did the same. Fox also slightly noticed that his temperature had once again shot up, just as ROB had said earlier. Lucky for him, he wasn't there to say it this time. Krystal was also noticing the same thing, but that wasn't even close to the main thing she had on her mind at the moment.

"_Wow…never realized how good of a kisser he could be._" She thought.

"Same to you." Fox said quietly. Krystal pulled him tighter to her, and to her surprise, Fox worked his arms to her back, and she let out a giggle as he suddenly flipped her over on top of him.

"You're lighter." He said, kissing her again. Krystal giggled, and the two vulpines were both completely absorbed into one another, oblivious to the world around them, simply caught up in their tremendous love they had for one another.

Fox felt like he was crashing to the ground in flames when he heard an unwelcome, ear-piercing 'BEEP-BEEP' sounding from what he very well knew to be the VAC.

"It…never…fails." He said under his breath as Krystal got up to press the switch near her bedside.

"Yeah, I know…We've got our date coming up though. Just you and me, nobody else, Fox." She said, pressing the switch, which in turn placed Slippy Toad's face upon the screen.

"Krystal I've got some good new…--Oh…am I interrupting something?" He asked in a shocked and somewhat suggestive tone. Fox rolled his eyes as he sat up on the bed, resting his back against the wall with his arms folded behind his head.

"_Oh my God…_" Fox said under his breath as he adjusted himself on the bed.

"No, Slip. Can't we just have some time to ourselves without somebody thinking we're…no, forget. What 'cha need?"

"I'm sorry Fox, I just thought that you and Krystal would like to know that the relief efforts are starting to progress, and already I've found Tricky's signal show up on the planet. On visual record, we found him to be in good shape. However, regarding the planet itself, it may take a _bit_ of extra time to totally clear up your…renovations…with the explosives, Fox."

"Okay Slip, no worries. Thanks for the update. Do you want me to help on the surface?"

"Don't worry about it, Fox. After that kind of hell you two went through, I don't think the relief team wouldn't mind if you sat it out." Slippy said.

"You're sure?" Krystal asked. Slippy nodded.

"Get some rest. You too lovebirds need it the most." Slippy said and cut the transmission. Fox rolled his eyes as Krystal came and set beside him on the bed and laughed.

"Slippy's something else, isn't he?" She asked as she leaned back, resting her back against Fox.

"Yeah…a bit. I just wish my luck was better than to see him when we finally got some alone time to ourselves."

"I understand. He means well though. Falco would probably get rumors like wildfire just for fun."

Fox nodded his head in agreement.

"Well, seeing as how the moment has been destroyed…" Fox said sarcastically as Krystal laughed.

"I'm heading back to my room to get some rest and I'm guessing that you need some too." He said, sitting up on the bed as he stretched his back, popping it in several places.

"Yeah…I'm feelin' a little drowsy myself."

"I'll let you get some rest. You're probably going to need it for tomorrow." Fox said menacingly as he gave her a hug.

"Oh, really?" She asked with a playful grin.

"Oh yes…and I've got plans for us, so don't get inside my head and find out. It's a surprise for you. I'll just say this…I hope you can dance."

Krystal laughed. "I won't, Fox. I'll just shut my telepathy off for tomorrow; make it normal for the both of us. And yes, I'm pretty sure I can dance, for whatever reason you need me to."

"Sure that'd be great."

"I love you, Foxie." Krystal said, giving Fox a tender kiss. Fox returned it and pulled away several seconds later, Krystal still in his arms.

"I love you too. See you tomorrow?"

"Sure thing. Just the two of us tomorrow after that little 'dance' I've got planned."

Fox gave her a quick kiss again, a slight tinge of red forming under his cheeks as he remembered what plans he had for tomorrow. Bill had told him of a gig that his band was playing tomorrow for the dance at the Grand Cornerian Hotel, the most expensive and prestige gig-magnet in the city. Everybody wanted a time to play. Fox wondered how Bill had gotten the spot.

Fox was almost boiling over with excitement for what he had planned tomorrow as he walked to the hangar, hoping to meet up with Bill Grey. To Fox's surprise, he was still in the hangar, working on his ship.

"She's got some years on 'er, doesn't she." Fox said, looking up at Bill who's lower body was partially hanging out of a hole from a removed panel on the undercarriage of his ship.

"Yeah, but she's got some left, though. Just because she's old doesn't mean she can't knock something down."

"That's true. Hey Bill, I've got a question for you."

"What's up?"

"Ok first off, Krys and I will be at your gig tomorrow. You sure you can get us in? I mean…the Grand Hotel, not an easy place to get into."

"Relax. I've gotcha covered. As long as you two meet up with me, you're in free."

"Good, and one last thing. I'm going to need a guitar."

Bill stopped immediately and bent his head over to look outside the hole, a grin spreading from ear to ear on his face.

"You goin' to serenade her, Fox?"

"Yeah…you'll see." Fox said as he turned and walked back to his quarters, a grin spreading on his face as he waited for what Bill would say next.

"You got it, Fox." He said as he crawled back up into the inner-workings of his ship. Fox nodded as he continued walking, to get some rest and to play some old tunes he had collected over the years.


End file.
